Ranchi: State health minister Irfan Ansari on Monday asked district health officials to refrain from referring minor health cases to Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims). Ansari, who reviewed the department’s works at the IPH auditorium in Namkum, asked civil surgeons to ensure that Sadar hospitals across the districts must provide appropriate treatments at their level. “Stop referring patients with minor ailments to Rims. Providing better treatment to the patient is the first responsibility at district hospitals,” Ansari said.The move, officials said, is aimed at reducing patient load in the state’s largest govt run medical college and hospital in the state capital. During the review, Ansari made it clear that excuses like lack of doctors, medicines, or ambulances will no longer be acceptable. He directed all civil surgeons to ensure that patients receive timely and quality healthcare within district facilities. Stressing accountability, he issued a stern warning regarding ambulance services. “If death occurs due to negligence of ambulance, the civil surgeon will be held responsible,” he said.Several announcements were made in the meeting to modernise and strengthen district-level healthcare. From August 15, free Wi-Fi will be operational in sadar hospitals, while specialist OPD services involving doctors from major cities like Ranchi, Patna, Kolkata, and Delhi will also be introduced. Furthermore, a digital push was announced under the Chief Minister’s Digital Health Mission, with deadlines to connect high-speed internet lease lines and Wi-Fi across healthcare facilities by September 15 for sub-divisional hospitals, October 15 for Sadar and community health centres and November 15 for primary health centres.Other directives included empanelling all govt hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and setting a revenue target of Rs 6 crore annually for each district hospital.
