To tackle absenteeism among doctors, Punjab to have biometric machines

A plan for this has already been finalised as absenteeism among doctors has become a major headache for the department as it was affecting health care services.
Chandigarh : To tackle absenteeism among doctors and other medical staff, biometric machines will be installed in all government hospitals in Punjab, health minister Brahm Mohindra said on Thursday.
These machines will be installed in all district-level hospitals in the first phase, the minister said in a press conference to highlight his department’s achievements and roadmap in the next one year.
A plan for this has already been finalised as absenteeism among doctors has become a major headache for the department as it was affecting health care services, the minister said.
“Rs 20 lakh has been sanctioned to install these machines in district-level hospitals. At the later stage, we are planning to make it compulsory to have these machines in other hospitals, including those in rural areas,” said
The minister said a regulatory body to monitor private hospitals in the state is in the offing and a team of expert is working on the draft legislation.
“This body would be a regulator for private hospitals as many of them have been accused of charging hefty fees and duping patients in one or the other way,” he said.
He said this draft would be become a reality in the current year. “It would prove a landmark move in regulating health services in private sector in Punjab,” said Mohindra.
2,950 wellness centres to come up
Rolling out the department’s vision document for 2018, the minister said the government’s aim is to provide quality health services to all people of the state and the first step to achieve this is to start 2,950 wellness centres in the state.
He said these centres will be established in a phased manner. In the first phase, 240 wellness centres will be opened this year in Fazilka, Pathankot and in two blocks of Patiala district districts.
He said trained staff nurses will be designated as community health officers in these wellness centres and the six-month special training programme for them Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is underway.
He said specialist/medical officers from nearby hospitals will visit these centres twice in a week for OPD services.
“₹17 lakh will be spent on operationalising each centre, including ₹5 lakh for infrastructure,” he said.
“Likewise, 50 new ambulances, including five advance life-saving ambulances, equipped with critical life-saving equipment, will be provided. To provide relief to those suffering from chronicle diseases, medicine shops will be opened at 22 district hospitals, 41 sub-divisionsal hospitals and three medical colleges of Punjab to provide generic medicines at affordable rates,” he said.