Call to effectively deploy healthcare professionals

SHILLONG, May 5: The Director of Health Services (MCH&FW), FV Kharshiing has underscored the need to effectively deploy the existing professions to improve the healthcare quality in Meghalaya.
Addressing the 23rd scientific conference-cum-general body meeting of the Meghalaya Medical Services Association (MMSA) which concluded on Saturday, she said the shortage of healthcare professionals is a major problem in the state.
“There are a lot of challenges we are facing and are yet to face. Coming and working together will bring success and progress at all levels. We must also ensure the optimal use of our healthcare facilities,” Dr Kharshiing said at the two-day event.
She also stressed the need to cope with the global standards of healthcare and “keep ourselves updated’ on new interventions and discoveries in the medical field.
She said the COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opener and jolted the system while exposing the various gaps healthcare professionals did not consider. She added that this led to a change in the thought process and woke everyone up from a deep slumber.
“The major challenge we are facing is to provide our patients with high-quality care for any health problem,” Dr Kharshiing said.
Stating that adequate attention was not paid to quality service before, she said healthcare professionals have to meet the expectations of the increasingly aware people. “This will help build trust and loyalty,” she said.
“We are facing many challenges in treating and meeting the needs of the chronically ill patients with the rise in the global mortality rate related to non-communicable diseases,” she said.
“We have to be able to provide the entire range of services and treatment which has to be continuous in all settings,” she said, underlining the need for enhancing clinical decisions by making real-time data available.