Health Services Expansion Planned for South Garo Hills Under New Directive

Meghalaya’s chief executive, Conrad K. Sangma, issued a comprehensive directive on Thursday to fast‑track the expansion of health services in South Garo Hills, focusing on the Baghmara Civil Hospital.

In a meeting with top officials from the Health and Family Welfare Department, Sangma outlined a multi‑layered strategy that includes finishing all current infrastructure works, launching new facilities, and bolstering human resources.

He instructed the department to accelerate the recruitment of specialist doctors and to increase the strength of nursing and paramedical teams, ensuring that the hospital can handle the rising patient load.

Data presented at the session showed that the operation theatre, operational since 2025, had performed 85 surgeries—42 of them cesarean sections. Out‑patient visits totaled 20,108 and admissions 2,334 for the same year, while the first half of 2026 saw 10,143 OPD cases.

Existing services comprise emergency obstetric care, a cesarean section suite, and a transit home for women awaiting delivery.

Four flagship infrastructure projects, together worth about ₹11.37 crore, are advancing: refurbishment of an aged community health‑centre building, construction of a water tank, repair of 25 residential quarters for the medical staff, and a second‑phase extension of the 70‑bed hospital.

Future health‑care upgrades under discussion feature a neonatal intensive care unit, a blood bank, an enlarged transit home for pregnant women, and a 50‑bed integrated mother‑and‑child health wing supported by the central public‑health infrastructure initiative.

The chief minister also evaluated the proposal to convert Chokpot Community Health Centre into a First Referral Unit, which would deliver emergency obstetrics, newborn stabilization, blood storage, a neonatal care unit, and 24‑hour referral capabilities. Sangma concluded by emphasizing that these investments are intended to make quality health care readily accessible and dependable for the people of South Garo Hills.