Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The
Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
implements various
national and state health programs. This department also plans and imple-
ments measures to prevent the occurrence of communicable diseases, thereby
reducing the burden of morbidity mortality and disability in the state. The
provisions of primary health care, which includes maternity and child health
services, require immunization of children against vaccine-preventable dis-
eases, control of communicable diseases, control of malaria, filarial, Japanese
encephalitis, elimination of leprosy, iodine deficiency disorder control pro-
gram, prevention of food adulteration, health checkup of school children,
health education of the community, collection of vital statistics under a birth
and death registration system, environmental sanitation, prevention and
control of waterborne diseases like acute diarrhea diseases, typhoid, dys-
entery prevention, and control of sexually transmitted diseases, including
HIV/AIDS. The
Deputy Director of Health Services
does the ground work and
takes immediate action if necessary, but always keeps the National Institute
for Communicable Diseases updated on the statistics with periodic reports,
seeking help whenever necessary.
The
Block Medical Officer
is a lead medical officer who can be consulted at
several Primary Health Centre facilities. This medical officer oversees the
other Primary Health Centre medical offices, if any. A
medical officer
is in each
Primary Health Centre and is a medical doctor. The
Health Inspector
(HI) is
part of the Deputy Director of Health Services' team that assists the Village
Health Nurse in various activities such as conducting school health camps.
The
Sector Health Nurse
reports to the Deputy Director of Health Services
and is in charge of consolidating all Village Health Nurse and Primary
Health Centre statistics from the health records for the Deputy Director of
Health Services office. The
Village Health Nurse
reports to the Sector Health
Nurse. Any suspicion of a disease with a high level of priority is immedi-
ately brought to the attention of the Primary Health Centre. The HI verifies
it after analyzing the complaint.
13.3.2 Primary Health Centre Health Data Communication Processes
The various reports are Family Welfare, Morbidity (currently done online),
Acute Direct Diseases, Fever, Immunization Report (by phone), Deliveries,
Minor Surgeries, and Institution. Almost all of them are done paper and by
fax except for Morbidity, which was recently launched online (Narain and
Lal 2007).
If a cluster of common symptoms is observed, the Primary Health Centre
notifies its Health Inspector and Village Health Nurse who in turn conduct
a survey in the concerned villages. A communicable disease is verified by
a Government Village Health Nurse. The Sector Health Nurse informs the
Deputy Director of Health Services designated to the respective area. The
Deputy Director of Health Services communicates the case to the Director
