Syed Tahir Bukhari
KUPWARA, Jan 27:The residents of border area are suffering from last couple of months due to the absence of Lady Assistant Surgeon and Specialists at the Primary Health Centre Chogal in Handwara tehsil of Kupwara district in North Kashmir.
A resident of Chogal Abdul Rashid told Early Times that, "the posts of Lady Assistant Surgeon and Specialists are lying vacant here in PHC Chogal from last few months, while the post of Child Specialist has not been filled from the last one year.
In this situation, people of Chogal Block and its adjoining areas are suffering and sometimes critical patients are being shifted to District Hospital Handwara for treatments, Rashid said.
Early Times learnt from other residents of the area that the worst sufferers are women, as in the absence of Lady Assistant Surgeon and Specialist, many delivery cases are either referred to District Hospital Handwara or Sub District Hospital Kupwara, which are quite far from this place.
Primary Health Centre (PHC) Chogal have a good number of medical and paramedical staff including three doctors, and one from AYUSH, two Pharmacists, two junior nurses, two Female Multi-purpose Health Workers (FMPHW), five nursing orderlies, three sweepers, three dental surgeons and a technician.
However the Block Medical Officer, Chogal Dr Zulfikar Nabi admitted to Early Times that there is urgent need of Lady Assistant Surgeon and specialist in the hospital. He said, "It is true, during delivery we have to refer our gyane patients to other local hospitals of the district.
Sometimes we have to refer our patients to the district Hospital Handwara for further treatments, Dr Zulfikar said.
BMO said that we keep one doctor ,two female staff and one pharmacist available here for night duty in PHC Chogal so that patients would not suffer.
Early Times also learnt that PHC Chogal has to call night staff from other nearby health centres like Wadpora, Braripora, Kawari, Sudal, and Dewaspora.
Government should pay attention to this and take immediate steps to fill all these vacant posts, so that proper and timely treatment could be given to the needy patients, BMO added. |
