Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation, Syed Basharat Bukhari on behalf of Health Minister, today informed the House that 1588 health institutions are housed in rented accommodations in the State. He said that Rs. 2.38 crore has been paid as rent charges of these buildings by the Department during the last two period.
Replying to a question by Mr. Sat Paul Sharma, the Minister said that providing sanitation facilities in all health institutions of the state including GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals is a routine feature among the functioning of the hospital.
The Minister said that to further improve the sanitation facilities in hospitals a cleanliness drive under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was started in all health institutions including associated hospitals of Government Medical Colleges across the state from April 10-30 this year.
The Minister said that the sanitation services have been outsourced in GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals and their working is being monitored by concerned officers, who while taking stock of things during morning hours also ascertain the cleanliness maintained in wards and other blocks of the hospital.
He said that the working of sanitation staff is also monitored with the help of CCTV installations at prime locations of the hospital. He further added that from the last two years, services of automatic machines have also been put to use for maintaining hygienic conditions in various areas of the hospitals. He said that the Medical Superintendents of the associated hospitals have also been asked to take inspection of all the wards, particularly, emergency/causality block, on routine basis to address the grievances of the patients, if any.
Regarding bio-medical waste generated in GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals, the Minister said that proper measures are being taken right from its segregation, collection, handling, transportation and incineration, as per the norms laid down for the purpose.
The Minister said that appropriate provision of funds is being kept under non-plan budget in every financial year under object-head ‘Maintenance and Repairs’ for keeping upkeep of the machinery and equipment. He said that during the current financial year, provision of Rs. 60 lakhs has been kept under non-plan budget in GMC Jammu, among other things, maintenance of hospital equipment also. In addition to it, Rs. 13 crore has also been proposed under NHM PIP (2016-17) for maintenance of hospital equipment at district hospitals, sub-district hospitals and PHCs, he said.
The Minister said that land at Samba in Jammu division has been identified for establishment of AIIMS and site inspection has also been done by the central teams, constituted by the Centre for the purpose. He said that the Union Health Ministry has conveyed formal sanction to the establishment of AIIMS at Samba and Awantipora in Kashmir.
