Bihar directs govt hospitals to identify gaps in maternal care equipment

Patna: In a bid to improve maternal and newborn care across government healthcare facilities, Bihar's Health Department has directed all district hospitals to review the availability of equipment in obstetrics and gynaecology operation theatres and Labour, Delivery and Recovery (LDR) complexes, and identify any gaps.

Civil surgeons and hospital administrators have been asked to check their current equipment availability against the benchmarks set by Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), pinpoint the gaps, and send in requests for whatever needs to be procured urgently.

The State Health Society has directed that all these requests be routed through the Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Limited's online portal, EMMS–e-Upkaran, so that supply chains stay smooth and hospitals don't face last-minute shortages.

The equipment includes operation tables, anaesthesia workstations, electrical suction machines, flash autoclaves, 12-channel ECG machines, and foetal dopplers, equipment that hospitals rely on daily in delivery and surgical care. Each facility has been asked to draw up a clear inventory of what it already has and what it still needs, and to wrap up this exercise within a set deadline.

Health Minister Nishant Kumar framed the move as part of a larger push toward safer motherhood. As per a report by TOI, he said the initiative would improve the quality of delivery services in government hospitals, promote safe motherhood and help reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. He said better-equipped facilities would strengthen obstetric and gynaecological services and reduce the need for referrals to higher centres.

The department expects the exercise to translate into more reliable, higher-quality maternity care for pregnant women across Bihar, care that doesn't depend on being referred elsewhere.