DC Mon tells district health officials to pull up their socks

EMN
Dimapur, August 8

The Deputy Commissioner of Mon district has asked the medical and health personnel of the district to start delivering services they have been charged with, to the people. Angau Thou queried them on the possibility of the medical service reaching the people if they do not stay in the place they had been posted to, by the government. A meeting of the Mon District Health Society and District AIDS Prevention & Control Unit (DAPCU) of Mon district was held on August 6 in the DC’s conference hall.
Exhorting the gathered medical personnel, the Deputy Commissioner of Mon Angau I Thou called upon the district health unit to rededicate in their profession to the service of the people. She also urged them to “retrospect ourselves and reflect whether we are in the place of posting and contributing to the welfare of the people.”
Asserting that ‘work culture’ has changed the district hospital of Mon as the best hospital in the region, Thou urged the gathering to “adopt work culture, and change the mindset and have the ownership of the noble profession to deliver best service to the people.” She described the medical services as a ‘noble profession which cannot be done by untrained persons.’ The official also said that “proxy should not be allowed at any cost and would be viewed seriously and ‘no work no pay’ would be strictly implemented.”
Stressing on the irregular attendance of doctors and staffs, DC Thou said that the policy of the centre and state governments is to provide medical service at the very ‘door steps’ of the people “How we can expect to deliver medical service at the door steps when we are not in the place of posting’ and said that ‘when we are not in the place of posting we deprived the opportunity given by the government to the people?” the DC queried.
The Chief Medical Officer of Mon district UK Konyak also spoke during the meeting. He informed the gathering that Mon’s district hospital requires nine specialists. The hospital is functioning only with two specialists as yet, he said. The district urgently requires an obstetrician and a gynecologist, an anesthetist, a pediatrician, a medicine specialist, and optician and a pathologist, he said. Regarding general medical officers, he said two medical officers are currently on study leave and the hospital needs five more of them urgently.
In the community health center setup, Dr. UK Konyak said that the two CHC centers in the district are supposed to have 14 specialists as per norms but no specialists have been posted so far in the existing centers. Two enters are functioning with only three medical officers and the present requirement is for three more. He also said that the Tobu health center needs a dentist and an Ayush medical officer.
Regarding the Primary Health Centers (PHCs), the medical officer said that out of the 15 PHCs only Wakching and Oting’s centers have a specialist each posted. Out of the 15 medical officers required as per the norms only seven PHCs have officers posted while eight medical officers are urgently required. He said the medical officers of Wanching, Naginimora, Chingkhao and Changlangshu PHCs are on study leave while Yongkhao, Shangnyu, Angphang and Mopong PHCs have no medical. 11 PHCs in the district have nil laboratory technicians as well, he said.
The chief medical officer also pointed out that out of the 50 sub-centers in the district, 42 sub-centers are functioning without a second ANM and pharmacist, while Yakshu and Monyakshu sub-centers have no ANM at all.
In the infrastructure section, the CMO said out of the 68 health units in Mon district, twenty one health units (eight PHCs and twelve sub centers) need construction. 10 health units (1 district hospital, 1 community health center and 8 public health centers) do not have medical officers’ quarters. 58 health units (1 DH, 2 CHCs, 11 PHCs and 44 SCs) have no staff quarters. He also said two multi-storied buildings (flat type quarters) for doctors and nurses and a quarter for MS needs “urgent construction.”