Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh has found health centres in West Khasi Hills district to be in dire need of manpower.
This was after medical officers of various PHCs, CHCs raised the issue at a zonal meeting also attended by MLAs of the district yesterday.
Lyngdoh said she will take up the matter with the Chief Minister. “We are well aware of this matter and we are seeking for an appointment with the chief minister. We will bring to his attention immediate requirement for specially specialist, super specialist and even MBBS doctors in our systems,” she said
She said that 40 per cent of West Khasi Hills does not have motorable access and that there was a huge requirement to supply ambulances to these regions.
“A lot of queries on efficiency of health service centre in and around the district were discussed and we took random spot inspections and also went to few facilities. We also looked at the various facilities at the civil hospital. Also feel we have to look at the possibility of initiating a tuberculosis centre there. We need to have a full fledged hospital,” Lyngdoh said.
The meeting also discussed about the supply of medicines.“ We need to figure out quickly how to ensure that indented medicines from the districts are going to reach the districts as soon as possible. In the meanwhile the new authority that has been in place is not fully functional so some amount of funds have been released to districts to ensure that essential medicines are not to be compromised and all facilities have,” she added.
Meanwhile Nongstoiñ MLA Gabriel Wahlang stated, “The situation in West Khasi Hills is bad. We have the highway from Williamnagar-Tura-Nongstoiñ-Shillong but we don’t have proper facilities to attend to injured individuals and many of them had to be taken to Shillong.”
