Guwahati, Feb 13: The Assam government will recruit 400 new doctors to reinforce healthcare services across the state in view of the shortage of medical professionals in government hospitals
Assam health minister Ashok Singhal informed that advertisements in this regard would be issued soon.
The health minister had on Wednesday conducted a comprehensive review of the functioning of the health and family welfare department and announced several key initiatives aimed at strengthening the state’s healthcare system.
After the successful observance of National Deworming Day on February 10, the state has set a target to administer albendazole tablets to 87,74,548 children by February 17.
“This mission covers all children aged one to 19 years registered in schools and Anganwadi centres. In two days alone, 32,32,988 children have been administered tablets. The campaign spans 41,192 schools and 61,738 Anganwadi centres across the state,” the minister informed.
Providing an update on the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme and 100-day TB Elimination Drive, Singhal stated that 4.3 million people were tested for tuberculosis last month, resulting in the identification of 4,000 new cases.
“Additionally, 21,210 children were vaccinated through the U-WIN portal, launched in January, achieving a 42 percent success rate. Vaccination efforts are also being continued through manual registration,” he said.
The minister revealed that numerous complaints have been received through the WhatsApp grievance number, highlighting issues such as non-availability of medicines in government hospitals, doctors not prescribing generic medicines, and the exclusion of vital drugs from the essential medicines list.
“In response, the government has committed to making nearly all essential medicines available in government hospitals within the next 10 days. Additionally, several other important drugs will be included in the essential drug list,” he said.