Shillong, Oct 5: Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla on Monday said a study is under way to rationalise health facilities to ensure that patients in remote villages do not have to travel long distances to the hospital.
Shylla was reacting to reporters’ queries on the death of a three-year-old child while being taken to the hospital from a remove village in West Khasi Hills district.
Assuring government’s commitment to bridge gaps between the heath facility and access to it, the minister said patients from one village should not travel very far to reach the health services.
The minister, however, said the child had died before reaching the hospital and that it was a “connectivity failure” and not a service failure.
Admitting challenges in access to some areas, he said, “Not only in that area, there are certain few areas where connectivity is still an issue. The child was brought dead by the time she reached the facility.”
Shylla also mentioned that Health authorities had no prior information about the case as the family had not even informed the ASHA.
“Health department was totally unaware,” he said.
He said the government is working on both road connectivity and emergency transport.
“Most of the areas we have touched, but we cannot do everything at one go. We are also making sure proper vehicles are available and in the proposal we have put that 4×4 ambulance is needed that side,” he said.
Stressing that development has to move on multiple fronts, he said, “We cannot prioritise only road connectivity because everything has to be done simultaneously.” “More projects are coming and we are trying our level best that connectivity should reach hard-to-reach areas,” Shylla added.
