Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday instructed officials to take necessary steps to strengthen the health system of the state through the National Health Mission and set a deadline of three months for setting the anomalies.

Siddaramaiah took top Health Department officials to task over slackness in achieving the objective of National Health Mission which is reflected in the lack of specialised doctors and inadequate installation of MRI and dialysis machines in taluk and district hospitals, said an official statement.

He directed officials that technicians should be appointed to provide all these services and MRI, scanning and dialysis machines should be installed in all taluk hospitals in three months.

He identified the campaign's shortcomings and gave clear instructions that they should be rectified before the next meeting, the statement added.

The Chief Minister noticed that the grant of the National Health Mission was not spent on time. Under this scheme, there is a shortage of 52 per cent of specialist doctors, a 31 per cent shortage of MBBS doctors and an 18 per cent shortage of nursing staff. He also instructed the officers to look into increasing their salaries and filling up posts, the official release said.

The Chief Minister directed the commissioner of the department to ensure the achievement of the set targets and to spend the funds on time.

The Chief Minister also heard the grievances of the officials including the appointment of five MDs for the corporation in the last year. The Chief Minister assured that this will not happen during the Congress government and also suggested that the Managing Director of the Corporation should serve for at least 2 years.

"How is it possible to provide good health care to poor people if special services like MRI scanning and dialysis are not provided in taluk and district government hospitals?" he asked.

The Chief Minister warned that if this situation continues, the authorities will be held responsible. The Instructions are given by the CM after reviewing the performance of Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, said the statement