Sarwal, Gandhi Nagar hospitals to have dialysis facilities soon: Sham

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 11:  In an attempt to further improve the health services the Government will launch dialysis facilities in Government hospitals, Gandhi Nagar and Sarwal soon. Initially these facilities will be available in these two premier institutions and gradually will be extended in the district hospitals.
This was revealed by the Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Sham Lal Sharma at a meeting of officers held in Gandhi Nagar hospital which was convened to review the functioning of Health Department, here today.
Stressing the need for close coordination between various wings of the department for achieving the better results, the Minister asked the officers to work hard to further improve the health services. He directed for implementation of all flagship programmes of Central Government so that benefits of these schemes percolate down to the needy. He also called for strengthening the monitoring mechanism to ensure accountability and transparency in the functioning.
While reviewing the overall health scenario of health in Jammu division, the Minister directed the Chief Medical Officers to give priority to the implementation of School Health Programme (SHP) and provide complete health checkup and treatment to the school children with special focus on eyes and dental checkups.
In order to promote the girl child, the Minister directed for strict implementation of PNDT Act across the State. He directed the Chief Medical Officers to keep a close vigil on the activities of Ultrasound Clinics to ensure a check on the illegal sex determination. He asked for conducing frequent inspections of all such establishments to implement the Act. He also stressed for activating the Mobile Medical Units in the rural areas to create mass awareness about various diseases and their preventive measures.
To overcome the paucity of blood, the Minister said that blood banks at the district level will be made fully functional so that adequate blood can be stored to meet the emergencies. He directed the CMOs to hold frequent blood donation camps with the active involvement of various organizations and educational institutions to arrange sufficient quantity of blood to save the precious lives.
While reviewing the progress of Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana (RSBY), the Minister directed the Director Family Welfare to speed up the process and implement this prestigious scheme in the ten designated districts in the second phase. He also reviewed the progress of scheme in Jammu and Srinagar districts where the scheme was initially launched.
In order to achieve the objective of Red Ribbon Train which is scheduled to come to Jammu in the first week of January next year, the Minister directed the Project Director AIDS Control Society to chalk out the strategy and make all necessary arrangements well in advance. He directed for involvement of educational institutions, social organizations, and other stakeholders to make the event a success.
Earlier, the Commissioner/Secretary  Health & Medical Education M.K.Dwivedi took a separate meeting with the officers and obtained the feedback of all health institutions located across the Jammu division. He briefed the Minister about the initiatives taken to improve the overall scenario to improve the situation.
Among those present on the occasion included, Director Indian System of Medicines, Dr. Abdul Kabir, Commissioner Food Safety and Controller Drugs & Food Control Organization, Satish Gupta, Mission Director, NRHM, Dr. Yashpal Sharma, Director Family Welfare, Dr. Kuldeep Kesar, Project Director, J&K AIDS Control Society, Dr. Rakesh Khajuria, Directors Health Services, Kashmir/Jammu, Dr. Saleem-ur-Rehman, Dr. Madhu Khullar, CMOs, Medical Superintendents and other officers of Health Department.