Public Health Department to strengthen NMC’s UPHCs
| Date :02-Jun-2019 |
By Vikas Vaidya;
Corporation’s Indira Gandhi Hospital likely to register not less than 100 deliveries
Tertiary health centres are getting burdened by increasing number of patients as the network of primary and secondary healthcare centres is not functioning the way it should be. The patients deprived of proper healthcare at the primary and secondary centres have no other choice than to go for tertiary healthcare centre.
Now, the Government is giving a serious thought to strengthening the health centres. Deputy Director of Public Health Dr Sanjay Jaiswal has been bestowed upon the responsibility of strengthening Urban Primary Health Centres (U-PHCs) being run by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). NMC runs around 40 U-PHCs in Nagpur along with four dispensaries -- Indira Gandhi Hospital, Gandhi Nagar; Panchpaoli, Sadar and Isolation Hospital. Present condition of these hospitals is very bad except the one at Gandhi Nagar. It was Dr Parineeta Fuke, Corporator who took initiative to revamp Indira Gandhi Hospital, she pursued and get the things done. There are no doctors at these U-PHCs, there are no amenities like medicines, small equipment, paramedical staff etc.
Even the dispensaries which are suppose to perform deliveries are not able to do so. Most of the cases of deliveries approaching NMC hospitals have to send them to either Government Medical College and Hospital or Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH). Union Cabinet has recently given its approval to launch a National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) as a new sub-mission under the over-arching National Health Mission (NHM). Under the Scheme the proposals have been approved include one U-PHC for every fifty to sixty thousand population, one Urban Community Health Centre (U-CHC) for five to six U-PHCs in big cities, one Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANM) for 10,000 population, one Accredited Social Health Activist ASHA (community link worker) for 200 to 500 households. Estimated cost of NUHM for 5 years period is Rs 22,507 crore with the Central Government share of Rs 16,955 crore.
The scheme will focus on primary health care needs of the urban poor. This Mission is supposed to be implemented in 779 cities and towns with more than 50,000 population and cover about 7.75 crore people. Dr Jaiswal informed, “We will be taking stock of the situation as to for how much population the U-PHC work? how much area it covers? What equipment it has? What facilities it has? Once we get the statistics, we would start working on these areas with proper planning. We will see what is lacking and try to remove deficiencies.”
Welcoming this move by Public Health Department, Dr Fuke said, “These hospitals need facelift. Their basic foundation, network is absolutely well. A slight push with strong will power will do a wonder. This will ease load on tertiary care hospital and their work also will get streamlined. this will also benefit people. I have experienced it when Indira Gandhi Hospital at Gandhinagar started changing.” Dr Jaiswal pointed out, “Apart from regular healthcare needs we will focus on reduction in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), reduction in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), universal access to reproductive health care, convergence of all health related interventions.
Existing institutional mechanism and management systems created and functioning under NRHM will be strengthened to meet the needs of NUHM. Citywise implementation plans will be prepared based on baseline survey and felt needed. Urban local bodies will be involved in implementation of the scheme.” One officer in the health department of NMC told ‘the Hitavada’, “Several doctors are ready to render services. Even doctors in private set up have showed keen interest in volunteering the cause. Government has to make a plan how it can be used. Under various schemes the money is there, we just need to spend the same in the right manner through proper way.”