Berhampur: The Odisha government will take steps to fill up the vacant posts of doctor in all government-run medical colleges in the state soon.
This was stated by Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling during his one-day visit to MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Berhampur in Ganjam district on Monday.
Stating that good and affordable health services to all from panchayat to medical college level is the objective of the government, the minister said filling up the vacant posts in the hospitals would be a step in this direction.
“The names of the sub-centres under PHC and CHC in the entire state will be known as ‘Arogya Seva Kendra’. One yoga teacher will be appointed in each Arogya Seva Kendra and alternative medicine and treatment will be promoted there,” he said while addressing a meeting organised on the occasion of World Doctors Day in MKCG Hospital.
He interacted with the doctors and the patients and assured them of taking up the issues raised by them with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. “We will provide all facilities to MKCG to improve its services to the patients. I have asked the MKCG authorities to submit a detailed list of problems faced by them to the Health Department,” he said.
Stating that a burn unit will be opened in the hospital soon, the minister said the final decision would be taken after discussion at the high level. He expressed his dissatisfaction over the condition of casualty ward and said he would take necessary initiatives to improve it.
He also assured of increasing the number of beds in the hospital as he found many patients were being accommodated on the floor due to lack of beds.
The Odisha Development Forum submitted a charter of demands to improve the condition of MKCG Hospital which is the only referral hospital in the entire southern Odisha. The state government must recommend to the Centre to convert MKCG into an AIIMS or AIIMS plus standard, the forum said.
Mahaling was accompanied by Fisheries Minister Gokulananda Mallick and MLAs of Ganjam. They discussed several issues with in-charge principal and Superintendent MKCG Prof Suchitra Das, vice-principal Dr Durga Madhab Satpathy, registrar Sangram Sekhar Panda and heads of various departments.
