In a bid to provide better health services to the citizen of Punjab, the state Health Department on Tuesday decided to make the ECG facility available at all Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Health and Wellness Centres of the State.

Announcing this while inaugurating the monthly review meeting of the Civil Surgeons, the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Brahm Mohindra said that it was first time in the history of Punjab that they will be able to provide ECG facilities at the PHC level and Health and Wellness Centres.

“Now, the people could get themselves diagnosed about heart problems at PHCs and Wellness Centres. In Punjab, never in the past, ECG services were provided to the citizens up to the population of 5,000,” he said.

Mohindra said that the Health Wellness Centres are catering health services up to the population of 5,000 whereas PHCs caters to the population of 30,000.

The Minister also announced that to strengthen service delivery system at the Health and Wellness Centres, soon 166 staff nurses would be appointed as Community Health Officers at each Centre.

“All these staff nurses have been given special training to provide basic medical care with regards to 12 general ailments,” he said.

Reviewing the data of inspections done by Civil Surgeons under PNDT Act, the Minister instructed the Civil Surgeons to accelerate the frequency of inspections as there was lot more to be done to check illegal sex determination tests.

He instructed them to keep close tabs on the day-to-day activities of private ultrasound and scanning centres mushrooming in the State and which were doing illegal sex determination tests.

Mohinhdra also appreciated the efforts of Department’s district vigilance teams who had been working tirelessly in unearthing the illegal drug de addiction centres.

“It is a welcome change that the people of Punjab are becoming aware about the illegal drug de-addiction centres...It is evident from the fact that illegal drug de-addiction centres are being unearthed. I must appreciate the vigilance teams of the Health Department who has been doing good job in this regard. Two illegal drug de-addiction centres have been unearthed within in a fortnight,” he said.

Reviewing the maternal health programme, the Minister announced that MoU with Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, would be signed within month after which the Hospital would provided all secondary and tertiary level services to the pregnant women referred from Government system.

The Minister also appreciated Patiala and Mansa districts for high rate of institutional deliveries as compared to other districts of the State; and asked the Civil Surgeons of the other districts to ensure that home deliveries are decreased by motivating people to come to the hospitals for institutional deliveries.

He instructed the Civil Surgeons to use the crucial services of ANMs and ASHA workers to educate the people in this regard and bring them to hospitals for institutional delivery.

“By increasing the institutional deliveries, we could substantially improve the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR),” he said.