Bhubaneswar: The public works department will take over the repair and maintenance of the urban primary health centres and the municipal hospital at Old Town that were earlier under the control of the civic body.

The decision was taken after local residents and councillors had raised the issue of bad infrastructure at the health care centres. Sources said the condition of these facilities not only created a bad image for the centres, but also posed risk for the staff members and patients.

"We received several complaints from local residents that slabs of the roofs were falling off in many health centres. They also lack other basic facilities, including the fire-safety measures. We took up the matter with the mayor in the council meet last month," said a local councillor.

Now, the works department will look after infrastructure needs of the Municipal Hospital at Old Town, and urban primary health centres at Bramheswarpanta, Naharkanta, Bharatpur, Gadakana, Kapilprasad and Rasulgarh.

"The existing dispensaries have been upgraded to urban primary health centres with added infrastructure and facilities. The centres are now bigger and it has become difficult to manage," said a health and family welfare department official.

"As a result, it was decided to hand over the facilities to the works department."

With the transfer of the facilities, the civic body will now take care of recruiting doctors and paramedics. The National Urban Health Mission officials will look after the equipment need.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they had been taking care of the Municipal Hospital and the dispensaries properly, but there was need for additional help in maintenance after it was upgraded.