Two dispensaries, which have only outpatient facility, in the district will be converted to primary health centres (PHCs), which offer a lot more services. This is part of a State-wide project in which eight dispensaries are being converted to PHCs at a total cost of Rs. 362.48 crore.
In Coimbatore district, dispensaries at Rediyavur in Pollachi South Block and Narasipuram in Thondamuthur block, which were run by local bodies, have been identified for conversion. The staff of the dispensaries will be absorbed into the Public Health Department.
A Government Order to this effect was issued recently in which the State Government also approved the conversion of seven other Panchayat Union dispensary buildings across Tamil Nadu to Health Sub-Centres that would be run by the Public Health Department. The initiative is part of an ongoing project in which the dispensaries run by Rural Development (RD) Department are gradually being converted to PHCs.
The PHCs will be staffed with two medical officers, a pharmacist, auxiliary nurse (midwife), junior assistant, a vehicle driver, a laboratory technician besides two multi-purpose hospital workers.
They will have a minimum of six beds. Residents of the area will no longer have to travel to other villages for child deliveries as well. A host of social welfare schemes such as Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme are implemented through PHCs.
The move to convert the Rediyavur dispensary addresses a longstanding grievance of the villagers as it was not functioning for years and had become a hub of anti-social activities. The other dispensaries that are being converted to PHCs are located at Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Tirupur, Tiruneveli, Vellore and Thiruvarur. The GO also directed the Rural Development Department to stop constructing dispensaries anymore in the State.