Ernakulam to have 40 more family health centres

54 FHCs in district by end of financial year

Forty healthcare institutions from the district will be converted into family health centres (FHCs) as part of the State-wide health programme, Mission Aardram.

The programme aims at making government healthcare centres patient-friendly by improving infrastructure and introducing more facilities. With the new addition, the district will have 54 FHCs by the end of the financial year. In the first phase of the mission, 14 healthcare institutions had been converted into FHCs.

A meeting of all local self-governments under which the identified institutions were located would be called in the coming week, Mathews Numpelil, the district programme manager of the National Health Mission (NHM), told

The Hindu . He said an assessment would be done on human resources, equipment and funds required to raise them to the level of FHCs, and work would be undertaken to set them up and make them functional as soon as possible.

Funds for converting primary health centres (PHCs) into FHCs had been made available through Plan Funds and the NHM, said Dr. Numpelil.

Modifications include making the space patient-friendly by ensuring privacy for out-patient consultations, providing laboratory facility, waiting area, pharmacy, drinking water and television, and maintaining hygiene and sanitation.

The government is expected to appoint staff at each centre as per requirement for operating morning and evening OPs. The main criteria in selecting healthcare institutions was their location, especially in hilly and coastal belts where there are few healthcare institutions. In the first phase of Mission Aardram, 15 FHCs were identified, of which 14 have become functional as FHCs. Except for two centres at Manjapra and Gothuruthu, where there was a temporary hitch in conducting evening OPs, the rest of the centres were operating morning and evening OPs with laboratory facilities attached to them, said Dr. Numpelil.

The new centres selected include community health centres at Neriyamangalam and Edappally; primary health centres that function round-the-clock at Pothanikkadu, Palakkuzha, Manjalloor, Valakom, Chittatukara, Koonamavu, Ayyamppilli, Mulavukad, Kakkanad, Keezhmad, Rayamangalam, Arakunnam, Panangad, Nettoor, Pindimana, Kadavur, Thuravur, Binanipuram, Eloor, Kumarapuram and Thiruvaniyoor; and primary health centres at Udayamperoor, Munambam, Edavanakkadu, Alangad, Choornikkara, Edathala, Thiruvamkulam, Moodakuzha, Okkal, Parakadavu, Ayyampuzha, Cheruvattoor, Kottapady, Punnekkad, Kandakadavu, Avoly and Malayattoor.