Bindal promises CCU at Una hospital

Una, Apr 19 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Minister Rajiv Bindal said a Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) will be developed at the Una district hospital to take care of heart patients.

Addressing newspersons here yesterday, after taking a round of the hospital, he accused the previous Congress Government of merely changing the status of the health institutions without upgrading the existing infrastructure or manpower.

Mr Bindal pointed out that while there were 36 First Referral Units (FRUs) in the state, only eight were functional and not a single one complied with the mandatory norms fixed for on FRU under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

''Not a single Ayurvedic Officer was recruited during the last five years, consequently, there were 150 vacant posts of Ayurvedic doctors, while the total vacancies of the Allopathic doctors was 350,'' he added.

He said posts of 250 Allopathic doctors and 1,000 pharmacists and 85 Ayurveda doctors and 200 pharmacists would be filled up to streamline the ''deteriorating health'' of the state's Health Department.

Mr Bindal said the present government had increased the budget in the health sector by 209 per cent, while the Ayurveda Department budget had been increased from Rs 62 crore to Rs 80 crore.

The state's health budget under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was likely to be increased by two and a half times as compared to the last budget, he said.

Expressing his displeasure over the state of sanitation in the hospitals, he ordered the PWD officials, deputy commissioner and chief medical officer to look into the matter.

The Health Minister also ordered the DC to inquire into the alleged misappropriation of funds in the incinerators installed at the Una and Haroli hospitals for bio-medical waste management.

UNI XC AS PS JT AS0856