Nitish gives appointment letters to nearly 5,000 healthcare workers in Bihar

Patna, Apr 8 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday handed appointment letters to nearly 5,000 women, who have been recruited by the Health Department for the posts of auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM).

Altogether 4,954 ANMs received their appointment letters at the programme in Patna, which was also attended by Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha and Health Minister Mangal Pandey.

“The induction of 4,954 ANM sisters was needed to ramp up our system of health sub-centres. Bihar now has a total of 14,600 health sub-centres and Ayushman Arogya Kendras,” Pandey told reporters on the sidelines of the function.

“These sub-centres are located in villages and panchayats and reflect the government’s resolve to improve health infrastructure in rural areas.

The health department has recruited 20,000 personnel in the last one year alone. This shows our commitment to improvement in the health sector as well as helping the government achieve its overall aim of job creation,” he said.

Meanwhile, leader of the opposition Tejashwi Yadav alleged in a social media post that the NDA government has “sidelined” the “positive work” done during the “17 months” when he was the deputy CM and held the Health portfolio.

Yadav shared a video, purportedly of a government health facility, where an elderly woman was being carried on a scooter, apparently for want of a wheelchair, and accused the state government of collusion with “brokers and medical mafias”.

“Mere structures of concrete do not deserve to be called hospitals if they lack doctors and trained professionals and are not equipped with even basic facilities like beds and wheelchairs,” said Yadav, who did not specify the place where the video was shot. PTI NAC SOM