Shillong: Following the death of the Shillong MP, the Meghalaya government has initiated an inquiry into the availability of medical staff at Mawiong Primary Health Centre (PHC). Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma stated on February 23 that the health department is examining whether a doctor was present at the PHC when the 54-year-old Ricky Andrew J. Syngkon. brought there after collapsing during a futsal match on the outskirts of Shillong.Also Read:Newborn Dies After Sweeper Allegedly Attempts Delivery at Surguja CHCSpeaking to India Today NE, Sangma said, “An inquiry is going on regarding the availability of a doctor at the PHC, and based on the findings, the health department will take necessary steps.”The alleged absence of doctors at the facility at the time has sparked public concern and calls for accountability, with residents and civil society groups seeking more staff at PHCs, reports PTI.  The MP, one of Meghalaya’s two Lok Sabha members, suffered a cardiac arrest while playing football and was initially taken to Mawiong PHC before being shifted to a missionary hospital in Shillong, where doctors were unable to revive him.
A member of the Voice of the People Party, he had defeated a senior Congress leader in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, ending the latter’s three consecutive terms representing the Shillong constituency. Before entering politics, he served as an Assistant Professor of Economics at North-Eastern Hill University.
The state government has indicated that further action will be determined once the health department submits its inquiry report. Also Read:Meghalaya drops plan to run Tura medical college on PPP modelMedical Dialogues had previously reported that the Meghalaya government decided to drop its earlier plan to run Tura Medical College under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and will now operate it as a fully government-run medical college, Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla said.Â
