Health department to upgrade all CHCs, district hospitals within five years

Patna: The state health department is all set to upgrade all 534 community health centres (CHCs) into specialty hospitals and convert 36 district hospitals (DHs) into super-specialty facilities within the next five years.

The initiative, part of the Nitish Kumar govt’s Saat Nishchay-3: Accessible Health–Safe Life campaign, aims to provide affordable, high-quality healthcare closer to people’s homes, according to an official statement issued by the department on Wednesday.The state cabinet has already approved the proposal, which includes adding advanced medical services, deploying specialists, and establishing district early intervention centres (DEICs) linked to a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Patna for monitoring, training, and research.Once the upgradation is complete, all CHCs will have additional facilities, including clinical psychologists, dietitians, dental and AYUSH specialists, along with increased staff such as physicians, pharmacists, urology technicians, ECG technicians, dental assistants, and OT assistants or technicians. Similarly, all DHs will be equipped with endocrinologists, neuro physicians, cardiologists, urologists, and nephrologists.

Each district hospital will also have a DEIC to identify and treat congenital diseases in children aged 0 to 6 years. All DEICs will be directly connected to the CoE in Patna, which will regularly monitor the quality of services. Health specialists, pharmacists, and technical experts will also be deployed at the CoE.Additionally, the CoE will serve as a hub for training and research on diagnosing childhood diseases and other health-related issues, promoting innovation in the healthcare sector.