District Health officials have been directed to spend one night in a month at any 24/7 Primary Health Centre (PHC) to know about the issues there and resolve them at the earliest.
Health Minister Harish Rao, who issued these instructions on Sunday, said that he too, would spend a night at the health facilities to know the situation.
As part of the monthly review meeting to know the performance of PHCs, and progress in the last month, Mr. Rao held a video conference on Sunday with District Medical and Health Officers (DMHOs), deputy DMHOs, Medical Officers of PHCs, and Programme Officers.
Screening of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), performance of caesarean sections at government and private hospitals, registration for Ante-natal check-ups (ANC), and other services offered for pregnant women, Out-Patient services, and other issues were discussed during the meeting.
Doctors and other medical staff were directed to be on duty from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at PHCs. According to the Rural Health Statistics 2020-2021, there are 863 PHCs in the State. Some of these function round the clock. Emergency services have to be provided at such health centres, he said.
Erring private hospitals
Number of caesarean sections performed at government and private hospitals was one of the focus areas of the meeting. Citing that 60% of the deliveries were C-Sections, the Health Minister stressed on the need to bring the figure down.
Mr. Rao said that some private hospitals were conducting C-Sections unnecessarily. Officials were instructed to lodge complaints with the Medical Council against such private hospitals.
More than 70% of deliveries in 210 sub-centre limits were conducted at private hospitals, which is leading to more C- Sections. This matter was taken up seriously.
