KOCHI: A high-level meeting chaired by Health Minister Veena George on Thursday took stock of the functioning of taluk and general hospitals in the district.
At the meeting, held at the district collectorate and attended by top health officials and local MLAs, the minister directed officials to ensure on-time completion of construction work at hospitals. “Trained persons should be appointed as security staff. CCTV cameras and public address systems should be installed in every hospital. The process of upgrading district hospitals into the e-health system should be expedited. Also, necessary steps should be taken to fill vacancies,” the minister said.
MLAs K Babu, K J Maxi, Antony John, Anoop Jacob, Eldhose Kunnappilly, Mathew Kuzhalnadan, Anwar Sadath, and district collector N S K Umesh attended the meeting.
Veena, who has been camping in Ernakulam for the last four days, also visited the hospitals to evaluate if they are functioning in accordance with Aardram criteria. Aardram criteria includes people-friendly outpatient services, access to comprehensive health services, and standardisation of services at government hospitals across the state.
The minister visited the wards, OP, rooms, pharmacy, labs, etc, and interacted with patients, doctors and staff at the hospitals.
She assured public and staff that construction and renovation work at the hospitals would be completed soon. Veena said the initiative has been well received. “We were able to interact with patients and take inputs from them. Necessary steps to improve the facilities at hospitals have been adopted,” she told TNIE.
Following the visit, a district-level meeting of officials from the health department, local body heads and local MLAs, chaired by the minister, was held. The minister during her visit, assessed the services provided at hospitals, people’s experiences, safety arrangements, and facilities.