| Health centres sans staff, people suffer | | | Early Times Report
KISHTWAR, Oct 21: Due to shortage of doctors and paramedical staff in far-flung hospitals, PHCs, sub centers and dispensaries, people have to travel long distances to either visit district hospital here or hospitals in Jammu and Srinagar. While Jammu is about 250 Km from here, Srinagar is more than 300 Km. Healthcare in the remote Bunjwah area, having a population of about 35,000 people, is worst affected. The area is not getting any government attention. "Some PHCs operate from rented accommodations with poor infrastructure," official sources alleged. At Bunjwah, only one PHC is running at Nali for many years. The government had now opened Ayurvedic Dispensary at Kither, a Sub-Centre at Buddhar, a new type PHC at Patnazi and Sub-Center at Pashalla. As the dispensary and sub-centers were still not up to the mark, the whole population of Bunjwah was dependent on PHC, Nali, which too was devoid of modern facilities, sources alleged, saying that due to shortage of staff, doctors were finding it difficult to cater to the increasing rush of patients. A senior doctor of PHC, Nali, said, ''We are having only five rooms. Of them, one is medical officer's office while one is being used as emergency ward. The other three are having a labour room, a lab and a dental section. Patients are also facing difficulties of ambulance service and hospital beds. It also does not have a separate OPD block." Noor Din, a patient, said, "This is the same PHC that I have seen when I was a child and today, I bring my child here for treatment."
He said it was unfortunate that for the last so many years, neither PHC was upgraded to CHC nor the conditions had improved.
Sources informed that some years ago land was acquired for construction of sepreate blocks but till date nothing was visible on ground.
Bunjwah residents have demanded personal intervention of the chief minister in upgradiation of the PHC to CHC. They have also demanded staff, ambulance, sepreate blocks , X-Ray, ECG, Blood bank and other health facilities. |
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