‘104' services to resume today

Sufficient funds are available to run the programme, say officials

March 29, 2012 12:43 pm | Updated 12:43 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

District Medical and Health Officer G. Savithri and Joint Director U. Prasada Rao give details of the fixed day health services through mobile health units, at a press conference in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

District Medical and Health Officer G. Savithri and Joint Director U. Prasada Rao give details of the fixed day health services through mobile health units, at a press conference in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

The fixed day health services through mobile health units (MHUs) with more types of services, increased number of staff, and better managements of vehicles, compared to the earlier 104 services to serve the people in rural areas, will commence in the district on Thursday.

A medical officer will accompany the paramedical staff, lab technician, pharmacist, driver and AASHA workers. The number of staff attached to each vehicle has been doubled from the previous six. Every village, except those in a radius of three km of a PHC, will be covered once in every month on a fixed date. With the medical officer present, diagnosis is also done without delay.

The Community Health and Nutrition Cluster (CHNC) will be parking places for the PHC mobile health clinics. The pharmacist and lab technician, who are outsourced along with the driver, will travel in the van. Lab services will be offered to the patients and a health education programme will also be held at the CHNCs.

The details of the renewed services were given by District Medical and Health Officer G. Savithri and Joint Director U. Prasada Rao, who is the monitoring officer of the programme, at a press conference here on Wednesday. Coastal districts coordinator M.S.R. Swaroop was also present.

The first vehicle would commence its operation on Thursday and by April 5, 17 out of the 20 vehicles in the district would be on the roads.

The remaining three, which needed major repairs, would be pressed into service by April 15. Sufficient funds were available to run the programme without any hitch, including for the vehicles and to pay the enhanced salaries to the staff. The PHCs medicines budget was doubled and the DMHO would purchase additional medicines, if required. The 104 services were stopped about three-and-a-half months ago and all problems have been cleared. The fixed day health services are being run under PPP with the Health Management Research Institute. Salaries of pharmacist, lab technician, driver, and computer operator have been hiked by 30 per cent. Arrears to the staff will be paid by April 5.

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