Sakeena Itoo reviews functioning of NHM in J&K

Jammu, Nov 13: Minister for Health and Medical Education and Social Welfare, Sakeena Itoo, Friday chaired a comprehensive review meeting at the Civil Secretariat here, to assess the functioning, progress and implementation of various components of the National Health Mission (NHM) in Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Saugat Biswas; Mission Director, National Health Mission, J&K, Athar Aamir ul Shafi Khan; Director Finance, H&ME; Director Planning, H&ME; Director Family Welfare and Immunization, J&K; Director Health Services, Jammu; Director Health Services, Kashmir and other senior officers of Health and Medical Education department.
During the meeting, the Minister undertook a detailed assessment of the performance of NHM across various sectors, with particular focus on public health planning, financial management, human resource availability, healthcare infrastructure, supply of medicines and essential logistics, diagnostic facilities, patient transport services and punctuality of healthcare personnel, besides other critical aspects of public healthcare delivery.
Taking stock of the progress achieved under different NHM interventions, Sakeena Itoo emphasised on the need for strengthening implementation mechanisms and ensuring that the resources being provided under the mission translate into tangible improvements in healthcare services at the grassroots level.
She stressed on optimal utilisation of financial resources, manpower and available infrastructure and directed the officers to identify existing gaps and take time-bound corrective measures to address them.
“NHM is an important instrument for strengthening the public healthcare system. Our focus must be on ensuring that every resource allocated under the mission is utilised efficiently and delivers measurable benefits to the people. There should be no gap between the availability of resources and delivery of healthcare services”, the Minister said.
She further called for greater accountability and inter-departmental coordination to improve the overall functioning of healthcare institutions and ensure the availability of essential services, medicines and diagnostic facilities, particularly in areas where access to healthcare remains a challenge.
Emphasising on the importance of equitable healthcare delivery, Sakeena Itoo said that people living in remote, far-flung and underserved areas must receive the same attention and quality of healthcare services as those residing in urban centres.
“Our priority is to make quality healthcare accessible, affordable and dependable for every citizen. The benefits of NHM must reach the last person in the queue and no individual should be deprived of essential medical facilities due to geographical or infrastructural limitations”, she maintained.
The Minister also stressed the need for maintaining punctuality among healthcare personnel, improving patient transport facilities and ensuring adequate availability of medicines and diagnostic services in public health institutions.
She directed the concerned officers to revisit all issues and bottlenecks highlighted during the meeting, formulate appropriate action plans and ensure their timely resolution. She also called for close monitoring of the implementation of various NHM initiatives and fixing responsibility at appropriate levels to ensure effective service delivery.
Reiterating the government’s commitment towards strengthening the public healthcare system, the Minister called upon the officers to adopt a coordinated, result-oriented and people-centric approach, ensuring that NHM fulfils its objectives of improving healthcare access, quality and outcomes across Jammu and Kashmir.