By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 9 Jan: Health Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat today organised a media workshop, under the aegis of National Health Mission where suggestions of media persons were also invited towards improving health services in Uttarakhand.
Addressing the programme, Rawat said that the role of media and IEC team is important for the information of various health schemes run under the health department to reach out to the last person of the state. The responsibility of ensuring coordination between the two is that of the IEC co-ordinator posted at the state and district level.
In the workshop, the media persons raised many questions regarding the betterment of health services and also gave more than two dozen suggestions, on which the health minister directed the officials to take note and implement them.
In the one-day IEC-media workshop, Rawat described the role of media and IEC as important. He said that both have an important contribution in conveying the correct information about the various schemes run by the Health Department to the last person of the state. But for this IEC at the state and district level would have to work in coordination with the media. Rawat said that the department would implement the suggestions received from the media persons in the workshop. For this, he gave instructions to the departmental officers on the spot. He said that suggestions received from such workshops would act as a guide for the betterment of health services. He said that similar workshops would soon be organised in all the districts of the state so that better coordination and dialogue could be maintained between media and IEC in greater public interest.
In the workshop, Secretary Health Dr R Rajesh, Additional Secretary Health Amandeep Kaur, Director General Health Dr Vinita Shah, Director Medical Education Dr Ashutosh Sayana, Director NHM Dr Saroj Naithani, Director Health Dr Bharti Rana, CMO Dehradun Dr Manoj Upreti, PMS of Coronation District Hospital Dr Shikha Jangpangi along with DPM and IEC coordinates from all the districts and public relations officers of medical colleges were present. After the IEC-media workshop, Rawat also held a meeting of IEC and DPMs from all districts and medical colleges. Expressing his displeasure over the slow progress in publicity, coordination with the media, monitoring of the schemes and their reporting and documentation of all the health schemes run under the NHM and the Health Department, he asked everyone to discharge their duties and responsibilities properly. He also directed the IEC coordinators to coordinate with the medical directors at the district, tehsil and block levels to bring the better work being done in the hospitals to the public through various media, as well as the Community Health Officers (CHOs) posted in various wellness centres.
