PHALEBAS: Twenty-four hour maternity services to pregnant and new mothers have started in all government health facilities at Mahashila Rural Municipality of Parbat district.

The maternity services have come into regular operation through birthing centres in the government health institutions of all six wards of the rural municipality.

Though the maternity services were already in operation for a long time in the Primary Health Centre at Lukhudeurali of ward 5 of the rural municipality, the services have been introduced in the remaining five health facilities from this year onward.

According to Raju Prasad Poudel, Chief of the rural municipality, the 24-hour emergency birthing centre services have been started with the aim to facilitate pregnant and new mothers of the rural municipality to receive required services from the health posts located in their own villages and prevent any loss of lives for lack of such facilities, especially after people’s representatives have been elected into the local levels.

He added that in the past, even in the primary health centre where the service was already in operation, local women were facing difficulties because complicated cases were not treated in the centre and there was shortage of skilled manpower.

Poudel also shared that the services have been started keeping in mind that rural areas do not have adequate access to transportation and normal families of the area also have economic difficulties to avail maternity services in other places.

The rural municipality has therefore allocated a total sum of Rs 1.7 million to provide birthing centre services in all the health facilities at the rural municipality by provisioning for necessary infrastructure and human resources.

The rural municipality has also started to fill the positions of 12 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and 12 Health Workers to avoid shortage of manpower in the health facilities. Poudel informed that human resources will be managed through the internal resources of the rural municipality.

The services have begun since last month in the health facilities at Hashrangdi, Bhoksing, Balakot, Pakhapani, and Phalamkhani of the rural municipality.

(with inputs from Rastriya Samachar Samiti)