Once branded a poorly performing hospital, the community health centre (CHC) at Gajwel has undergone a transformation for the better.
The hospital’s condition had once prompted the closure of the Comprehensive Emergency Maternal Obstetric & Neonatal Care (CEMONC) centre and the transfer of three staff nurses to the primary health centre at Kangti. A gynaecologist was deputed to the Sangareddy District Hospital and the General Duty Medical Officer was shifted to Siddipet.
Initiatives by Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao in the constituency of his uncle and State Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, have helped turn things around.
The CHC now has a round-the-clock helpdesk manned by two staff – one male and one female – to serve pregnant and lactating mothers. Pick-up and drop facility is also being provided – two ambulances kept unused for want of repairs for a long time have now been pressed into service under the National Ambulance Service.
For the first time in Telangana (and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh too) toll-free number 102 has been activated.
The 102 helpdesk staff will also call pregnant women in their eighth month of pregnancy, and inform them of the facilities available at Gajwel.
The team of Senior Public Health Officers (SPHOs) will call sarpanches and Mahila Samakhya members, informing them of the pregnant women expected to deliver during the month. The latter will be requested to encourage those pregnant to get themselves admitted to a hospital.
With these steps in place, the CHC conducted its first Caesarean operation on January 5, the hospital was able to gain the confidence of the people. So much so that it was able to handle 47 Caesarean operations and 17 normal deliveries in the month, in addition to referring 10 cases to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.
“Overwhelmed by the success of the concept, the National Health Mission is planning to replicate it in a phased manner across the district – Siddipet and Medak by the end of January, Patancheru, Zaheerabad, Narayankhed by February 10 and Andole, Sangareddy, Narsapur and Dubbak by end of February,” NHM district project manager Jagannath Reddy said.
It lacked staff and facilities once; today, the health centre is a model that will be replicated across Medak district
