Healthcare Measures

According to a statement made by Union Health Minister J.P.dda in Guwahati on Sunday,  Assam will soon get an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) along with nine other States. The site selected for the Assam AIIMS is at Kamalpur revenue circle in Kamrup district. One might have preferred the location of the AIIMS at some other district of Assam like gaon, but the Union Health Minister said that the Centre was keen on turning Guwahati into a hub of healthcare in the Northeast. dda’s announcement about the AIIMS came soon after he laid the foundation stone of a super-speciality block at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Sunday afternoon. He announced that the super-speciality block at GMCH would have paediatric surgery, haematology, gastro-intestil surgery, endocrinology, and burns and plastic surgery wards. The creation of such a facility would add 190 beds, 60 ICU beds and six modern operation theatres to the GMCH at a cost of Rs 150 crore. The super-speciality block is likely to be operatiol within the next two years. dda also announced that the Centre had decided to upgrade the district hospitals at gaon, North Lakhimpur and Dhubri to the status of medical colleges. All this is excellent news for the healthcare system of the State. What has to be kept in mind about the rapid expansion of healthcare services is the present lack of inspiring faculty members to man all the newly created medical colleges in the State. And while we are concentrating on the secondary and tertiary aspects of healthcare, it is possible to lose sight of the issues of primary healthcare like our high materl mortality rate and problems arising from rural malnutrition. We must ensure that this does not happen.