The Commissioner & Secretary, Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) Y Kikheto Sema while stating that the department has an excess of third and fourth-grade employees, but a shortage of technical employees.
Kikheto, in a coordination meeting with officers on Jan 25 said that the department is the third highest staffed department in the state, with nearly 10,000 employees, after the Home department and Education department.
He pointed out that there are over 772 health centres as against 1380 recognised villages, and highlighted that there is a health or sub-centre in every two villages, making it difficult to manage. He questioned the need for these excess centres, and wondered who would provide the infrastructure or if they were created to employ fourth-grade staff.
Expressing grave concerns about the lack of technical experts and excess health centres, Sema suggested the idea of bringing NGOs, churches, and like-minded individuals to invest in health centres on the principle of ‘communitisation of public institutions.’
He also suggested converting posts for technical positions as fourth-grade employees retire. Sema urged the department officials to work towards the state’s vision of providing affordable and accessible healthcare to all citizens.”
- Inputs from Morung Express