Shillong : The West Khasi Hills district administration has sought reports from various departments following the death of a three-year-old child from Domkyrkoh village while being taken for medical assistance, with the incident highlighting the continuing connectivity challenges in remote areas of the district.
The administration has sought reports from the Block Development Officer, Rambrai Block, the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO), West Khasi Hills, and the Executive Engineer, PWD (Roads), to establish the sequence of events and assess the healthcare, transport and road connectivity challenges faced by residents of the remote village.
According to preliminary information, the child fell critically ill at Domkyrkoh and required medical attention. The village falls under the healthcare coverage area of the Mawkhiat Sub-Centre, a functional PM-ABHIM sub-centre that has been operational for about a year.
However, the sub-centre is around one-and-a-half hours on foot from Domkyrkoh, while the village comes under the Rambrai PHC.
Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla said the incident was unfortunate but pointed to connectivity as a major challenge faced by residents in the area.
“It is like we lost a life, a precious life,” Shylla said, adding that connectivity remained an issue not only in Domkyrkoh but also in several other remote areas.
According to the minister, the Health Department was not informed about the child’s condition before the child was taken for medical assistance. He said he had also inquired whether an ASHA worker had been informed and was told that the health workers had not been alerted.
“This is very unfortunate, but the issue here is with the connectivity, it’s not with the services, because she has not reached (the facilities),” Shylla said.
The district administration said a transport arrangement under the Chief Minister’s Safe Motherhood Scheme (CMSMS) is available in the region for emergency patient transfers. However, preliminary information suggests that local health workers were not informed about the child’s illness when the symptoms began, and the emergency transport mechanism could therefore not be activated at that stage.
The incident has also brought attention to the transportation difficulties faced by residents of Domkyrkoh.
Vehicular access to the village is through Mainop, but the road becomes non-motorable during heavy rainfall and adverse weather conditions. Public transport in the area is also limited.
Shylla said the government was working to improve connectivity in hard-to-reach areas and that proposals had also been made for four-wheel-drive ambulances for such locations.
He said the government could not address all connectivity and infrastructure needs at once, but was working on multiple projects to improve access to remote villages.
The minister also said the government was undertaking a study on the location of medical facilities to ensure that people in villages do not have to travel long distances to access healthcare services.
The district administration said it is aware of the long-standing road connectivity problems faced by Domkyrkoh and neighbouring areas.
A 10-km road project from the 4th kilometre of the Rambrai-Mawrok PMGSY Road to Nonglang via Domkyrkoh has already been sanctioned under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF). The project is expected to provide direct connectivity to Domkyrkoh and improve access to healthcare, emergency services and other essential facilities in the wider Mawdet area.
A multi-disciplinary team from the Health Department will visit Domkyrkoh on October 6 to assess the healthcare needs of the community as well as issues related to accessibility and emergency medical response.
Further field visits are also planned, following which health and administrative teams will submit reports on healthcare requirements, transport constraints and other challenges identified in the area.
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The findings will be used by the district administration to identify immediate measures to strengthen healthcare access and emergency response, while the PWD (Roads) will take necessary steps towards execution of the sanctioned CRIF road project.
The administration expressed concern over the death of the child and said it would monitor the situation and take appropriate measures based on the departmental reports and field assessment.
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