By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 1: The state government is planning to come up with a helpline number to report any anomalies and grievances encountered across health facilities in the state.
It is also planning to make technological interventions to monitor and better operationalise the health centres.
“We should at all points of time enable the public to give us immediate feedback and a toll-free line is a very good idea. I will take this to my officers and see if this could be initiated,” Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said on Friday.
After meeting the members of Hynniewtrep Youth Council, Sohiong, she said, “They brought to my attention some observations and said certain matters require immediate attention. So, I have asked the DMHO to go for a joint inspection on the 8th (of March). We should not have a problem.”
She said if there is anything that needs to be addressed, it should be addressed amicably.
“We are also contemplating on sending the staff of various PHC and CHCs to undergo some hospitality skills training as they are frontliners of our institution. Such programmes will enhance their ability in redressing some emergent developments in various cases,” the Minister said.
“I will be sending the staff on a short-term programme to improve their overall hospitality perception so that people get the right message,” she said.
“These are centres though challenged from various angles. It is important for the staff to be kind, welcoming and sensitive to the predicament of citizens because they come only when they are unwell. They are already under tremendous stress and we must ensure that this stress does not result negatively. This is what we are going to do in certain centres,” Lyngdoh said.
Stating that it was brought to her notice that the grievance cell is yet to be strengthened, she said, “We have a state grievance cell. I have been apprised of this important thing. I am on the job to find out whether the state committee has been formed and if it has the members.”
On dealing with deficiencies in the various CHCs and PHCs, the Minister said, “Right now, there is an online portal and at the click of a button, we are going to find out all these issues which are usually linked to our facilities.”
“I should know at the click of a button that there has been a regular equipment audit. What is working and what is not,” she added.
She said they are preparing the dashboard and way ahead in monitoring the functioning of the health institutions.
She said at the click of a button, they will get to know the stock of medicines in the pharmacies at various dispensaries, when the last indent was made and how much time after the indent was made that the medicine reached the institution.
“All of this is being prepared. We expect a big alertness in the system compared to any lethargy that might have been observed in the past,” she added.