Telangana doctors to spend at least one night at PHC in a month

Hyderabad: The State government on Sunday directed District Medical and Health Officers (DM&HOs), programme officers and medical officers to spend at least one night in a month at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) which will not only improve the quality of healthcare but also highlight limitations in the system that need to be addressed.

Health Minister, T Harish Rao on Sunday said the presence of local health officers for an entire day, including the night, at a PHC will send a positive signal for the local population and also go a long way in instilling discipline among local caregivers.

At a review meeting with DM&HOs, programme officers, medical officers, caregivers at supervisory levels of PHC and sub-centres in Telangana, Harish Rao said that he will also spend an entire night at a PHC.

“In the coming weeks, I will spend a night at PHC so that I can get first-hand knowledge of the challenges that patients and healthcare workers face at the ground level,” he said.

The Minister also urged health officials to focus on ensuring natural deliveries (instead of C-sections) are taken-up at government hospitals. “There are nearly 210 sub-centres in Telangana where as more than 70 per cent of the deliveries are taken up at private hospitals. As a result, there is a rise in C-sections in areas that fall under these sub-centres. For the past three to four weeks, we have identified these sub-centres and have focussed our attention to reduce C-sections in these areas,” he said.