SHILLONG, Dec 11: Meghalaya has been awarded at the national level for achieving the target of operationalising 448 Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) under the Ayushman Bharat Comprehensive Primary Health Coverage programme.
According to a statement here, the award was received by Mission Director of National Health Mission (NHM), Meghalaya, Ramkumar S and Joint Director of Health Services Dr. Rilynti Lyngdoh during the two-day convention ‘Universal Health Coverage Day (UHC) 2022’, organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Reacting to the feat, Lyngdoh said, “We were honored to be recognised for the dedication of the state in achieving more than 425 operationalised Health and Wellness Centres. We were able to achieve our targets within the timeline due to the hard work of the district and state teams, especially the Mid-Level Health Providers (MLHP) at the field level, who have given their all to ensure that these HWCs provide access to quality healthcare to every citizen.”
It may be noted that under the programme, 18 Urban Health Centres, 114 Public Health Centres, and 318 sub-centres have been upgraded to HWCs in Meghalaya.
“These Health and Wellness Centres are envisaged to deliver an expanded range of services that go beyond Maternal and Child Health Care Services to include care for non-communicable diseases, palliative and rehabilitative care, oral, eye and ENT care, mental health and first-level care for emergencies and trauma, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services,” a statement in this regard said.
It is also pertinent to note that the HWCs in Meghalaya have provided over 60,000 teleconsultation services within a year, which is the second-highest number among the Northeastern states.
