Kolkata: In a bid to ensure that Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is able to render better health services, the civic body is planning to digitally connect all its ward health centres with the chamber of the Chief Municipal Health Officer (CMHO) while a library cum reading room has been inaugurated in the health department to aid the medical officers with knowledge in public health.
Addressing the press, deputy mayor and member mayor in council (MMIC), Health, Atin Ghosh, said that the KMC health department has been following a hub and spoke model. There are 13 hubs and one spoke until now but soon more hubs will come up, in a bid to render better health services in all 144 wards.
Ghosh said that KMC will connect all its health centres digitally. As of now, several have already been digitally connected and 17 more will soon be connected. He said that television sets have been installed in them and soon all of these centres will be connected to the CMHO room allowing digital meetings and conferences in emergency situations. He said that KMC to date has been successful in combating the Adenovirus outbreak and claimed that most cases in city hospitals are from the district.
Commenting on the library, he highlighted that the library will not just be helpful for healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, and community health workers but also for researchers and students looking to enhance their knowledge on public health topics. Money from CMHO contingency fund, and from the deputy mayor’s fund, were utilized to set up the facility. There are books worth Rs 15000 to 20000 in this library.
Dr TK Mukherjee, honorary adviser (Health), KMC, said that books provide both practical and proven knowledge. This is the first time in my 41 years of association with the KMC that such a library has been set up. This will greatly help the medical officers of the KMC in equipping them with the right knowledge about health services.