IMPHAL, January 28: The Working Group of the NEC has recommended that the NEC should focus on the issue of establishment of State Mental Hospitals in all the North East states.
According to a reliable source, the Working Group of NEC considering improvement of the health standards in the NE states and the need for more investment by providing substantial allocation of resources to substantiate it, the NER Vision 2020 has recommended that health sector budget increased up to 6 percent of Gross State Domestic Product.
Other recommendations also include the need for establishment of accident and trauma centers in all district hospitals along the national highways at strategic locations, considering the remoteness of the region and hilly terrains.
The recommendation has also suggested the setting up of Oncology wings in the civil hospitals of the state capitals of the region with at least one cobalt machine for which a one-time grant may be availed from the centre.
The source said the Working Group of the NEC has made several recommendations for the 12th Five Year Plan of NEC regarding infrastructure, equipment, medical manpower development in the health sector.
The Working Group has recommended that considering the inadequate health infrastructure; equipments and medical manpower in the region, there is a need for an increase in budget allocation for Health Sector in NEC Plans and State Plans to meet the needs of both urban areas and in rural far flung areas of the region.
The working group has also said that adequate attention is needed to strengthen the SCs, CHCs, PHCs, etc, informed the source.
Another recommendation says that all the District Civil Hospitals should be up-graded/ strengthen with specialty departments and with appropriate diagnostic and treatment facilities, which can be done in a phased manner.
Recommending the need for the private sectors to supplement the public sector, it is also said that provision by the public sectors alone, in terms of infrastructure and manpower, may not be sufficient but has also to be supplemented by the private sectors.
The NER Vision 2020 has also mentioned that there is a need for introduction of innovative health service delivery and training for the endemic area involving NGOs, informed the source. Private sector hospitals should be supported in terms of creation of specialty facility services to supplement the government’s efforts and such hospitals should provide free and low charge facilities to the economically weaker sections of the society, the recommendation stated, informed the source.
The state governments should recommend such proposals of the private sector hospitals justifying the need for creation of such facilities, and the state governments need to monitor the implementation of various projects, especially where public funds are involved, it said.
The recommendation also said that there is need for creation of specialty and super specialty facilities in all the district hospitals not only by creation of infrastructure, but also with positioning of appropriate manpower both in medical and paramedical so that referral cases could be reduced and to save economic burdens of the patients and their families.