Upgraded health facilities at Tura & Nongstoin to be functional by Christmas

Shillong: The upgraded healthcare facilities in Tura and Nongstoin, the headquarters of West Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills districts, are set to be operational by Christmas, according to an official statement.The Maternal & Child Health Hospital in Nongstoin has been fully refurbished, while the Maternity & Child Hospital in Tura has been upgraded with a new 50-bed wing. Additionally, Tura now has its first public Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and an enhanced Special Newborn Care Unit. These upgrades were prioritized by chief minister Conrad K Sangma during his CM-Connect sessions.“All these efforts aim to improve maternal and infant health indicators through development of capacity,” an official statement said.Principal secretary (health & family welfare dept) Sampath Kumar and other officials held review meetings to take stock of the progress of both the health facilities.To raise maternal health service standards in Tura MCH and to assist the medical superintendent and provide expert inputs and independent quality reviews, a maternal and child health specialist has been deputed through the World Bank supported Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project for the last four months.

A consultative meeting was also held with private hospitals of the Garo Hills region, where the various senior administrators and specialists agreed on the importance of unified efforts to reduce preventable maternal deaths through public-private collaboration.“Support for the treatment of poor patients at the private hospitals under the Chief Minister’s Safe Motherhood Scheme is also slated to be formalized to ensure that maternal cases referred from govt health facilities receive cashless and timely care,” the statement said.“Severe anemia was flagged as a persistent, high-impact risk, and will be a priority focus. Hospitals will intensify early screening during Anti Natal Care, ensure a steady supply of iron sucrose and run targeted outreach in vulnerable communities,” the release read.“The state has introduced Outcome-Based Budgeting (OBB) to decentralize health budgets to directorates, districts, and individual health facilities, to enhance autonomy and link resources to results and accountability at every level,” the statement added.