Kochi: There is every chance that patients who come to Primary Health Care Centres in the state on the fifth working day of every month may have to depend on nearby private hospitals as the medical officer would be away for the monthly review meeting at the district medical office. As per the standing instruction, a review meeting of doctors from all PHCs and Community Health Care Centres should be convened on every fifth working day of the month.
“Though medical officers of single-doctor PHCs have been asked to attend the monthly meeting only after the OP time or by arranging a replacement, it is not being followed. The review meeting is of no significance to the medical officers and it is only for data collection and to submit reports to the DMO,” said a top official of the health department who didn’t want to be identified.
The public health experts also are of the opinion that the customary meeting schedules of the health department should be modified. “The monthly review meeting of medical officers just for data collection or reporting is unnecessary. Daily reporting or interaction with the DMO is possible as PHCs have been provided with laptops and internet connection.
Doctors from block-level CHCs, which have more than one doctor, and health inspectors from PHCs can be sent for the meeting. When monsoon-related infectious diseases are on the rise, the functioning of one-doctor hospitals is being hit due to the review meetings,” remarked Dr. K.G Radhakrishnan of Thrissur Medical College, who is a member of the state committee of Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishat.
Refuting the allegations as baseless, Dr. A.S Pradeep Kumar, additional director (public health), told DC that monthly meetings are significant for PHC management and community healthcare management.
Though the previous LDF government had shortened the frequency of the review meetings to once in three months, the UDF government reinstated the monthly meeting.
