Health dept needs to improve public services, feedback mechanism: PAC

Gandhinagar: The Public Account Committee (PAC) of the Gujarat assembly concurred with the observations of the CAG (Comptroller & Auditor General) that the functioning of the state's health and family welfare department requires substantial improvement to enhance public health facilities.
The PAC submitted its report on CAG's observations on the health and family welfare department on Friday.
"According to the guidelines of Indian Public Health (IPH), each district should have a district hospital. During the audit, it was found that the newly formed districts of Aravalli, Morbi, and Gir Somnath in 2013, and Anand district formed in 1997, lacked district hospitals for many years. The committee recommends that whenever a new district is formed in the future, a district hospital should be operational within a stipulated time, with adequate bed arrangements ensured," the PAC report stated.
"During the audit of govt hospitals, it was observed that while service lists, usage fees, various posters, etc., were displayed for patients' convenience, no complaint registers were maintained in any govt hospitals. Consequently, it was not possible to verify the hospital administration's response to patient-related issues or complaints during the audit," the PAC observed.
It stated that in a written statement sent to the PAC, the health department mentioned that complaint registers are maintained in every hospital and complaints recorded in them are appropriately resolved. The PAC has recommended that every govt hospital should maintain complaint registers and take timely action on complaints.
The PAC further noted that a continuous supply of essential medicines in hospitals was a crucial part of providing quality healthcare services.
"During the audit, it was found that essential medicines like amoxicillin, chlorpheniramine, diclofenac sodium, hepatitis-B vaccine, Inj. ceftriaxone, insulin, gentamicin, etc., were not regularly available in stock. Additionally, 12% to 76% of essential drugs requested by sampled hospitals were not supplied as of Aug 2015, and in Vadodara district hospital, 67% of essential drugs were unavailable for over four months," the PAC report stated. The committee recommended pre-emptive planning to ensure the continuous availability of essential medicines and equipment in all govt hospitals.