TNR Exclusive: Chamba Medical College’s patient welfare committee meeting held after long 4 years, but that too virtually
The Newz Radar
CHAMBA: The sensitivity of the Himachal Pradesh government towards the Medical College in Chamba, included in the list of backward districts of the country in health services, can be gauged from the fact that a meeting of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (patient welfare committee) of the college was organised after a long gap of four and a half years.
Even during the tenure of the previous BJP government, the meeting was not convened in 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 financial years. Consequently, a substantial budget worth crores was expended without the necessary approval from the patient welfare committee. Despite the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government’s slogan for bringing about ‘Vyavastha Parivartan’ (system transformation), the mantra proved ineffective in reforming the system of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti at Medical College in Chamba.
This is evident as the Sukhu government convened a meeting of the welfare committee only when merely two months are left for the completion of the current financial year. The delay in convening the meeting is being attributed to the busy schedule of Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil.
On January 10, after approximately four and a half years, a meeting of the Patient Welfare Committee took place. However, instead of physically attending the meeting in Chamba, the committee chairman, i.e., the Health Minister, conducted it exclusively through virtual mode. People have been questioning the purpose of waiting for 10 months if the meeting was to be conducted in this manner.
Nevertheless, a significant achievement of this meeting was the approval of the budget and expenditure account of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti for the past four and a half years, a matter long awaited by the committee. Looking at the proposals endorsed in this meeting, a budget of Rs 8.27 crore was approved, with most routine works receiving approval. Only Rs 10 lakh out of this amount will be allocated for the purchase of machines.
