Health Minister inspects Civil Hospital, Jalandhar
Jalandhar, July 12
As newly-inducted Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra on Tuesday visited the Civil Hospital, he was greeted by broken doors of washrooms, which were in stinking condition, leaking coolers of drinking water and bikes parked alongside the ward area of mother-child care centre.
The minister spent about 45 minutes checking the facilities at the HIV patients’ centre and even the de-addiction centre. He said the hospital needed a lot of improvement in its facilities and it was unfortunate that the wards of children were overcrowded and ill-maintained.
This happened despite the fact that the hospital authorities knew about the minister’s visit today and had got the entire premises cleaned up. There was no usual littering and the floors had been freshly swept.
The minister said he had been informed about the condition of the hospital by Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora, who asked him to visit the premises on a priority basis and ensure its upkeep. “I will surely do the needful. The hospitals will be equipped with advanced technology treatment and healthcare facilities. Existing healthcare facilities will surely be upgraded on a priority basis,” he told mediapersons, giving certain directions to officials too. He said the staff scarcity issue would be resolved in the coming months. He said he would keep visiting the hospitals to get to know the ground realities and interact with the patients to know about their needs.
Some safai karamcharis and nurses also met the minister and sought to raise the issue of salary and regularisation. The minister said that his government was contemplating to frame a new ‘health policy’ and he was visiting civil and sub-divisional hospitals to take stock of the ground reality so that a comprehensive document could be introduced in a larger public interest. He said the government was also planning to set up more cancer treatment centres and dialysis units across Punjab. On Mohalla clinics, he said the scheme would bring in good health facilities close to the localities. Over 500 health dispensaries have been handed over by the Rural Development Department to the Health Department.
Earlier, Punjab Police officials accorded a guard of honour to the minister on his arrival at the Circuit House. Prominent among those present on the occasion included MLAs Raman Arora, Sheetal Angural and Inderjeet Kaur Maan. Deputy Commissioner Jaspreet Singh, ADCP Sohail Mir and others officers of the administration and police were also present.
The Minister also visited the Civil Hospital, Nawanshahr, and Sub-Division Hospital, Balachaur. Inspecting the arrangements, he visited various wards and enquired about the wellbeing of patients there.
Seeking details of the required medical equipment, he said vacancies in the government health institutions would be filled soon and the infrastructure would also be upgraded.
Minister Jauramajra asked the hospital management to pay special attention to 24-hour emergency services, availability of medicines besides focusing on hygiene. He said he had announced a cash reward of Rs 51,000 for the best Civil Surgeon.
Need better facilities
The Civil Hospital needs a lot of improvement as far as facilities are concerned. It is unfortunate that the children wards are overcrowded and ill-maintained. Existing healthcare facilities will surely be upgraded on a priority basis. — Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Health Minister