By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 9: The High Court of Meghalaya has observed that the health facilities in the state need near-revolutionary improvement to be on a par with what is generally available in the rest of the country.
The court on Thursday heard a PIL on the deficiencies in health services in Meghalaya.
The state government referred to a project funded by the World Bank in association with the Ministry of External Affairs that could see Rs 371 crore invested over a period of five years to augment the healthcare system.
But it acknowledged that a lot more needs to be done to improve the healthcare system.
The court order cited studies that say Meghalaya may have the highest incidence of cancer, particularly oral cancer, in the country. It also said a report published in the newspapers reveals that smoking and drinking in the Northeast are the highest in the country.
Yet, there is no dedicated cancer hospital in the state, the court observed.
Though a cancer unit has been set up at the Civil Hospital in Shillong, it still does not have adequate equipment.
SP Mahanta, the amicus curiae, pointed out that there are no facilities for conducting biopsies in the state. However, two units set up recently in Tura and Shillong are capable of cancer diagnosis, he said.
“There is no doubt that a lot more needs to be done to improve the healthcare facilities in the state and it is just not acceptable that after 75 years of independence the facilities would be as primitive as they are now. There is no doubt that funds are essential, but the lack of funds cannot be an excuse to perpetuate the lack of rudimentary medical facilities,” the court said.
The court also observed that though the state has prepared a kind of a roadmap to indicate how improvements would be made, lessons could be taken from some of the neighbouring states where multiple cancer treatment facilities are inaugurated on the same day to deal with the growing problem.
“At present, the situation is such that the affluent residents in Meghalaya seek medical assistance elsewhere and the rest may not have meaningful access to adequate facilities. There has to be an almost revolutionary improvement in the facilities to bring it at par with what is generally available in the rest of the country. Funds have to be found and extraordinary attempts have to be made for such purpose,” the Court said.
In addition to the creation of better facilities, the court said awareness drives are needed to be undertaken, particularly in the rural areas so that certain common bad practices are eradicated in due course.