The death of a road accident victim, a minor girl in the sub divisional hospital Hussainabad, for want of medical oxygen last week was a wakeup call to the district administration to set right the health service in Palamu.
Without losing any more days DC Sameera S sat with the civil surgeon, medical superintendent and other top officials of the administration to x-ray the deficiencies and shortcomings in the health care mechanism in the district.
The Monday health services review of the deputy commissioner Palamu Sameera S had no placebo but bitter pills.
The health services review gained immense importance following a tragedy triggered mainly by human callousness and apathy that occurred in the sub divisional hospital Hussainabad, 78 kms away from Daltonganj, where a road accident victim girl had died for want of the medical oxygen.
It was not only the non-availability of the medical oxygen that took the life of the road accident victim, the ambulance driver too committed a criminal act by going away from the hospital with key of the ambulance.
There was a great public outrage. Tyres were burnt in the streets. The sub divisional hospital Hussainabad was locked for an hour or so at night.
The situation could have taken far worse a turn which was averted by a swift and prompt response and intervention of the civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar.
Sources said the DC Sameera S had made it clear to everyone who matters in health care that it would be unacceptable if the Hussainabad fiasco is repeated in any health hub. A severe action will be taken if such a tragic episode takes place.
Sources said Sameera S has asked for an update on the numbers of the ambulances, their corresponding numbers of the drivers, status of availability, response time to call of the ambulance.
DC wanted FMR. It is a financial management report. It's important to NHM (national health mission). FMR is about financial transaction and budget utilisation and other financial metrics.
The bottom line of the review meeting was that deliberations done in the Monday June 9 meeting should yield results when such a review meeting is held next time as answer or response hackneyed or stereotyped would not be accepted when such a review meeting is held.