JAGATSINGHPUR: Four years have passed since the Health Department announced to set up a 100-bed Mother and Child Care (MCC) unit at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH). The project, though, has failed to move beyond official files. The MCC unit has become a necessity as the gynaecology ward in the DHH has only 24 beds while over 50 pregnant women are admitted everyday for delivery.
The Health Department had decided to sanction `17 crores for setting up the unit and sought 10,000 sq ft land for the purpose. A piece of land belonging to the Irrigation wing was identified but it was transferred to the district administration in 2016. Delay in sanctioning of funds has further delayed the project. Despite approval of `17 crore for the MCC under the State Budget Plan, the National Rural Health Mission, which is the implementing authority for the project, is yet to take any step.
Apart from the MCC unit, the DHH is yet to set up a physiotherapy unit that the State Government had sanctioned a few years back due to lack of space. Besides, there are no specialists in medicine, orthopaedics, anaesthesia and ENT departments of the hospital. Chief District Medical Officer Ashok Kumar Patnaik said as MCC is yet to be set up in the DHH, they find it difficult to implement schemes that would be beneficial for both mothers and newborns.
