Absentee doctors mar health services

ROURKELA: There is no infrastructure or funds problem. Absenteeism and erratic attitude of medical staff at the Bisra Community Health Centre (CHC) are failing a sizeable rural population to avail of timely and better health services at the Maoist-infested Bisra block. Health services have virtually collapsed in the block, about 25 km from Rourkela, along the Odisha-Jharkhand border. Doctors are increasingly accused of concentrating on private practice. Poor rural patients are left in the lurch in cases of medical emergency and pay through their nose to get better treatment. Villagers claimed on Monday evening that a 12-year-old boy Sumit Dhal was rushed to the CHC after a snakebite. On not finding a doctor, the family as well as locals demanded one immediately. A medicine specialist was called in and soon after arriving the boy’s attendants were asked to fetch vaccines from outside. Amid mounting tension the doctor finally treated him with government-supplied medicines. Patients of Bisra’s 16 panchayats along with a sizeable population from the adjacent Nuagaon block and forest-dwellers of neighbouring Jharkhand depend on the CHC. But, the health centre provides little succour to them. As per the Health Department, the 16-bed CHC is relatively getting better attention in comparison to other blocks of the district with adequate supplies of medicines. It has five doctors, two mobile health units and adequate para-medical staff. Only the posts of surgeon and assistant surgeon are vacant. So what is ailing the health services there? Former sarpanch and George Sena president Gopal Singh said doctors here crave for money. He added that same doctors are easily accessible at private clinics. Practically, the outdoor functions for merely two hours. Sundargarh CDMO Dr SC Patel advised people of the block to lodge complaints for corrective actions. However, given the district’s vacancies of 56 doctors along with low pay packages it is an open secret that the local health administration is hopelessly ineffective. Any action against doctors would see them go on long leave to aggravate the situation.