Gadgets rust as dist trauma centres fail to take off

Medical gadgets worth Rs 2 crore are lying idle as the trauma centres in three district headquarters of Nongpoh...

Medical gadgets worth Rs 2 crore are lying idle as the trauma centres in three district headquarters of Nongpoh, Tura and Jowai in the state are either non-existent or do not have manpower or buildings.

Meghalaya Health Minister Adviser Pariong admitted that in these three district headquarters the trauma centres are non-functional. He, however, claimed that the Government is concerned over the non-functional trauma centres and lack of manpower.

Another area of concern in the state is the absence of medical specialists in different fields. Pariong told reporters on Wednesday: “The Government will come out with a clear cut decision on how to get specialists for the trauma centres.”

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The state health department has decided to use medical gadgets in the three trauma centres by shifting it to the orthopaedic department of the civil hospitals. Pariong, however, said that this is only a temporary arrangement, adding: “The centres need to be operationalised separately.”

Pariong said due to dearth of specialists in neurology, plastic surgeons and other departments the Government has decided to let the orthopaedic surgeons man the trauma centres.

Jowai and Tura, which are the district headquarters of Jaintia Hills and West Garo hills respectively, do not even have trauma centre buildings. In Nongpoh, the trauma centre building is almost 60 per cent completed.