‘Want state to emerge as a health hub’

HHimachal Government continues to battle acute shortage of specialists and medical officers in its bid to provide “quality healthcare” to its 72-lakh population fighting dengue, scrub typhus and hepatitis besides high rate of cancer. 

State Health Minister Vipin Parmar (54), a first-timer, is firmly on saddle and hopes that the state will emerge as a “health hub” for its people, medical students and tourists. It will produce 750 MBBS and 82 specialists every year in three to five years’ time, when all institutions will function, taking care of the “shortage” of doctors at tertiary and primary level in the state. He talks about how he and the Jai Ram government will overcome obstacles they face on the way to Senior Staff Correspondent Kuldeep Chauhan. Excerpts from the interview: 

Patients from state continue to rush to PGI or AIIMS, Delhi, as you lack both specialists and MBBS doctors at primary health centres. What is the vacancy position with regard to specialist doctors, MBBS doctors, nurses and other para-medical staff in Nahan, Chamba and Hamirpur medical colleges?

It is not true. We have strengthened quality care at IGMC and Tanda medical colleges and have enough faculty for Nahan, Chamba and Hamipur medical colleges. We have sought NGT’s approval to run the Rs 48-crore new cancer project at IGMC and Rs 40-crore cancer project at Tanda has started and now, we are equipping it with manpower and operators. We are falling short of 12 per cent faculty positions at these institutions and we are at it. 

What is the position with regard to posts of MBBS doctors, nurses and paramedical staff in the state? No DPCs are being held to appoint new faculties and regularise doctors on contract? 

Out of 2,031 posts of MBBS doctor, we have 1,903 doctors in place, all 100 posts of matron are in place; out of 3,299 posts of nurse, 2,359 are in place. We are filling more posts of doctor through walk-in-interviews and 732 posts of nurse and 250 posts of paramedic shortly. DPCs are a regular process and we will conduct these on time. 

What is the status of AIIMS in Bilaspur? When will the work start and what is the status of fund flow from the Centre?

The land has been transferred and the work will start soon and the project is likely to complete in five years. The Centre has earmarked Rs 1,200 crore for AIIMS. 

The Congress government had appointed a heath commission and was to start the practice of auditing the “prescription slips” of doctors so that patients prescribe generic medicines. But the government has scrapped both. Don’t you think all money and efforts went waste? 

The Congress befooled people for which it got a befitting reply. They upgraded 104 PHCs, but just imagine one in Jasroor was non-existent and found to be in Pathankot. Health commission was a ‘junket commission’ as nothing substantial came out of it for people. 

There are cases not just in Tanda but in other government hospitals also, from where patients are being referred to private hospitals. There is also a nexus of doctors with MRs for commission. What have you sone to check this practice?

This has not been brought to my notice. Doctors, sisters and paramedics are the backbone of Himachal. But those found guilty of committing any ‘malpractice’ will face action. 

Do you intend to increase the reach of your telemedicine project from tribal to other areas? How effective has the programme been?

Telemedicine has proved a boon for people in Keylong, Kaza, Pangi. We have identified 50 more remote areas across the state to extend telemedicine facility to people there. 

Outbreak of dengue, scrub typhus in Bilaspur, Solan, Mandi, Shimla, Chamba, Hamirpur and Kangra and even hepatitis in Shimla and Mandi  have taken the state by surprise. How come the ‘dengue fever of the plains’ landed in the hills? 

Dengue came with a patient from Bilaspur, who had it when she was a student in Bengaluru. The mosquito is found in the wild and it feeds on animals, but its larvae have been breeding in towns targeting ‘every clean pool of water’  to breed. Scrub typhus, a mite-infected disease, spreads in rainy season when farmers go there to cut grass and suffer mite-bite. We are creating awareness and hope it will reduce in future.

What about the anganvadi workers, who are on streets most of the time, demanding hike in wages?

We have increased wages for the last few months and they are getting Rs 3,900 and Rs 3,500 per month. 

Fake, spurious drugs remain a major problem in the BBN hub. What action has the government taken? 

It has not been brought to my notice so far. We will examine the report (of drug controller, Rajasthan) and blacklist such companies as the government will allow not anybody to play with people’s lives.