| Shortage of staff, medicines in PHC Bharath | | | Bijay Charak
Jammu, Aug 23: Notwithstanding the state government claims of making available better healthcare facilities to all, Primary Health Center (PHC), Bharath, in Gundana block of Doda, which is shortage of adequate staff and medicines, belies these official claims. In the absence of the requisite staff, people of the area were suffering a lot, according to official sources.
Farooq Ahmed Malik, a resident of Bharath, said the PHC has the sanctioned strength of three doctors including two Assistant Surgeons and a Dental Surgeon but all these three posts have been falling vacant for the last five years.
"As this PHC has no laboratory services and it also faces dearth of medicines, I fail to understand how the government has given the status of PHC to this dispensary", Malik said, adding that even for a minor ache in teeth, one has to cover several miles on foot and later 28 kilometers by bus to reach district hospital, Doda.
Shabir Ahmed Khan, another resident of Bharath, said that he had to shift his relative to Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, due to the lack of health facilities here.
"I initially visited PHC Bharath, but an NRHM doctor, who was present in the PHC referred the patient to district hospital Doda, but due to lack of manpower in Doda, they shifted my relative to Kishtwar, followed by a referral to GMCH, Jammu", he said. Castigating state government, Shabir Ahmed Khan said, "Being poor, we don't have money to visit big healthcare institutions. If government can't provide facilities, why such PHC be not closed", he said.
Khan said politicians "treat them like voters only and during election time, they came for votes but never did any work for welfare of masses".
The PHC Bharath has been catering to a population of more than 18,000 souls. On one hand government claims that PHCs should have 24 hour emergency services, on the other hand, PHC Bharath has no doctor available so what a person will do with the building. An NRHM doctor along with one paramedical staff has been rendering services in PHC Bharath, where there is no manpower and medicines available, and for a simple test like X-Ray or ultrasound, people have to go to district hospital or GMCH, Jammu. When contacted, Chief Medical Officer, Doda, Dr Yaqoof said that recently state government had announced selection of 760 medical officers for Jammu and Kashmir province. "20 posts were sanctioned for District Doda, out of which only 6 medical officers are appointed. In absence of such huge manpower, problem exists", he said.
He said that due to the shortage of medicines in Jammu, they were not able to provide medicines in Doda but they have been providing medicines for emergency purposes. |
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