Health Policy Issues and Health Programmes in ... - Amazon S3

Ayurveda and Unani Department and the Convergence of Services with the Health Department in UttaranchallIn general, ayurvedic medical officers can promote health education in communities andschools.Institutionalizing ConvergenceFor convergence to function permanently, processes have to be institutionalized:llllllThe first step in this direction is redefining the roles and responsibilities of ayurvedicmedical officers to include some of the activities they can and should perform to promoteand provide RCH services.Since new responsibilities have to be added to their job functions, medical officers requirere-orientation training to understand their roles and functions and to effectively dischargetheir duties.There is a need for regular coordination meetings between personnel of the Ayurveda andUnani Department and the Health Department to share information and experiences, and toreview and monitor performance.Ayurvedic dispensaries are static in nature. They do not have the staff to provide extensionservices or to make household visits. However, they can monitor various health indicatorsand visits of auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) to their villages.There is a need to establish a referral system by linking ayurvedic dispensaries withallopathic hospitals and clinics.Management information of the Ayurveda and Unani Department must be strengthened toimprove the performance monitoring of each medical officer and each dispensary,particularly in regard to their contribution to RCH services and other national healthprogrammes.239