Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh Inaugurates the State’s First Fully Operational Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Wing the District Hospital in Bijapur, Bastar Region

Bijapur, February 02, 2017: Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Dr. Raman Singh, inaugurated the state’s first fully operational Maternal and Child Health (MCH) wing “Umang” in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected district of Bijapur in Bastar Region. The MCH wing is the first state-of-the-art facility in a district hospital in Chhattisgarh, which as per National health mission norms, has the required infrastructure as well as human resources including specialist doctors.

This unique initiative of the state government of Chhattisgarh in partnership with UNICEF and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) to attract and retain specialist doctors in the operationally challenging Bastar region, a prominent naxal-hit area, will not only save lives of pregnant women, children and tribal population, but will also be a model healthcare facility to attract specialist doctors from across the country.

The MCH wing houses 50 beds for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Neonatology. The wing includes the outpatient department, antenatal and postnatal wards, labour rooms, obstetric intensive care units, high dependency units, a revamped operation theatre, pediatric wards, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units and a skills lab. The MCH wing will cater to sick women and children and shall provide quality care to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity.

In 2015, the Department of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Govt of Chhattisgarh, under the aegis of National Health Mission approved the setting up of MCH wings for comprehensive reproductive, maternal, newborn and child and adolescent health in selected LWE districts. The Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Govt. of Chhattisgarh then in collaboration with UNICEF & Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) initiated working on a project to attract and retain specialized Human Resources for Health in the districts Bijapur and Sukma, in order to operationalize First Referral Units and strengthen primary health care service delivery. The idea was to develop a multi-pronged strategy to reach out to specialist doctors from across the country and to create conducive environment for doctors to contribute and prosper in these regions. Successful outcomes from this initiative are ensuring availability of specialist doctors for the MCH wing in Bijapur, which has now become a model for the rest of state and similar LWE districts in the country.

In his address, Dr. Ayyaj Tamboli, District Collector of Bijapur said, “We are truly excited to bring this unit in service of the mother and babies in this region. This model healthcare facility is a great example of political-will, administrative and strong partner support. I am grateful to the specialist doctors who have shown their commitment and zeal to make this the first in the state. This facility will open new horizons for ensuring universal health care in this region, which can be replicated in similar districts across the country.”

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)