Minister for Health & Medical Education, Bali Bhagat paid visit to District Hospital Pulwama and PHC, Kakapora and took stock of the functioning of these institutions. He inspected various units and wards including emergency and issued necessary instructions to the hospital administration to further improve the medicare and sanitation conditions in and around the hospital by pressing into service additional manpower. He also inspected the under construction 100-bedded additional block of the District hospital and received brief account of its status and features. He also inspected the newly constructed building of GNM School, Pulwama and enquired about the starting of academic session there. Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama, Neeraj Kumar, SSP, Pulwama, Rayees Ahmed Bhat, and senior officers of the Health Department accompanied the Minister. The Minister was apprised that the additional 100-bedded block being constructed at an estimated cost of over Rs. 25 crore is at its final stage and some interior works are in progress. The building will be handed over to the administration within next few months. As regard the functioning of the GNM School, the Minister was apprised that the team of Nursing Council of India has conducted its inspection recently and process for its early recognition/approval is in progress. The efforts are afoot to start the classes from this session if all the formalities are completed by the concerned authorities. The Minister issued instructions to the concerned officers of the Health Department to vigorously pursue the case with the Central authorities for making the institution functional from this year. He also directed the J&K Housing Board officers to expedite finalization of the additional block so that the IPD was made functional. He directed the hospital administration to undertake regular sanitation drive to keep the hospital premises neat and clean. He directed for replacing all the non-functional pipes, taps and other articles in the bathrooms which are causing the leakage and inconvenience for the patients. He also directed for creating basic facilities for the attendants in the hospital premises who are visiting with the patients. Reacting to a complaint by the public about the paucity and mis-use of the Ambulances, the Minister ordered an inquiry to find out the facts and asked the Deputy Commissioner, Pulwama to look into the matter and submit the fact-finding report to him within a week’s time. Meanwhile, the Minister has directed for rationalization and judicious use of the ambulances so that the public may not suffer for this essential service. Later, the Minister organized a joint meeting of district administration and local public to sort out the issues, especially pertaining to the Health Department. The people raised the prominent issues of their areas, mainly pertaining to the health, PHE, road connectivity, power, horticulture, irrigation and demanded improvement in these sectors. The Minister directed the concerned officers to attend people’s issues on priority for which the present government is committed. He urged the officers to pay frequent field visits to address the basic issues on the spot. Regarding the shortage of the doctors and diagnostic facilities in the health institutions in the district, the Minister said that the process of rationalization of doctors and para-medics has started and all the rural health intuitions will be made functional. Similarly, the details have been sought from all the hospitals about the defunct diagnostic equipments and same will be replaced/repaired on priority. Regarding the supply of medicines and other related material in the hospitals, the Minister said that all the hospitals remained without medicines due to wrong policies of the previous Governments, but the new Government has sorted out the issue and supply of all the essential medicines has started reaching to all the hospital. He said Government has also made the procedure of medicines procurement a quite transparent and there will be complete check on the pilferage of government medicines. As per the newly devised mechanism, the supply of government medicines will have a special colour coding and easily recognizable, thus negated the chances of pilferage in the market, said the Minister.
