CUTTACK: The Odisha High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to immediately take corrective measures to improve the quality of healthcare facilities in the state-run hospitals.
The court issued the direction on a PIL filed by Chittaranjan Mohanty, a 72-year-old lawyer and social activist. The order was issued after Mohanty submitted a note with a series of suggestions on the basis of an analysis of separate reports submitted by district legal service authorities (DLSAs) after an on-spot inquiry of district headquarters hospitals (DHHs), community health centres (CHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs) and crack teams following up with surprise visits.
The division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman said, “Now that the government has the full facts before it, it should take the corrective measures without any further delay. The court would like to see actual tangible change happening on the ground in respect of each of the matter pointed out by the petitioner in his note.”
“An affidavit be filed by the additional chief secretary, Health department specifically indicating precise action taken in each of the suggestions filed by the petitioner in his note,” the bench said. The court expected the affidavit to be filed one week before February 15, the date fixed for taking stock of the action-taken-report of the government.