Haryana Govt Issues Statewide Measures to Strengthen Maternal Healthcare Services After Faridabad Incident

Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Following a recent incident in Faridabad, the Haryana Health Department has issued comprehensive directions across the state to strengthen maternal healthcare services and improve emergency response systems in government health institutions.
Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Sumita Misra, directed all Civil Surgeons to take immediate corrective and preventive measures to ensure timely treatment, respectful care and uninterrupted medical services for every pregnant woman visiting government hospitals.
She said the initiative is aimed at increasing accountability and further strengthening patient-centric healthcare services across Haryana.
Under the new measures, all First Referral Units (FRUs) in the state have been instructed to keep at least one fully equipped ambulance available round-the-clock. Health institutions handling a high number of deliveries will also be provided dedicated emergency ambulances equipped with essential medicines and medical equipment for maternal healthcare services.
The Health Department has further directed that the main gates of all government health institutions remain open 24 hours a day to ensure uninterrupted movement of patients during emergencies.
Special emphasis has also been placed on ensuring the safety and security of healthcare workers posted on night duty at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs).
To improve institutional delivery services, all health institutions have been instructed to ensure the continuous physical presence of staff nurses for round-the-clock delivery care. Institution heads and district-level National Health Mission (NHM) teams have also been directed to conduct surprise night inspections to monitor services and ensure smooth functioning.
Addressing staff shortages, the department has instructed district authorities to immediately deploy additional nursing staff from other institutions wherever shortages are identified. Civil Surgeons have been given three days to ensure that no delivery point remains affected due to lack of staff.
Dr. Sumita Misra said the objective of these directives is to improve service quality and further strengthen maternal healthcare infrastructure at the grassroots level. Officials have been instructed to strictly implement all directions while keeping patient safety and public trust as the highest priority.