Malkangiri: Appointment of adequate number of Ayush doctors and paramedical staff in the ‘Swabhiman Anchal’ of this tribal-dominated district has led to vanishing of sorcerers and quacks who often put the lives of patients at risk.
There has been a drastic reduction in the number of quacks practicing in the region with the appointment of Ayush doctors, pharmacists, ANMs, Anganwadi workers, attendants and other paramedical staff under various government medical schemes designed for tribals.
Gone are the days when quacks ruled the roost in these areas. Locals are also turning up at Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) for treatment, giving a major blow to the quacks who often cheated people and charged more money.
In its attempt to do away with the practice involving treatment of patients by unqualified persons, the district administration has revamped rural healthcare and started bringing services to the doorsteps of villagers.
The health scenario is fast improving in these areas. This measure by the administration has left no space for fake doctors.
Quacks often demand chicken, goats and other things on the pretext of treating patients. Further, due to wrong treatment, patients had to pay a heavy price.
However, the quacks have now become a thing of the past in the Maoist-hit areas. Under government schemes, doctors and ANMs go from villages to villages and render free health services to the tribals.
On the other hand, the strict vigil by the district collector and senior officials has helped the people avail treatment from time to time. Earlier, the medical staff, with no supervision, used to work in their own way and did not visit remote villages. They used to dump huge quantity of medicines.
However, now, they are travelling from village to village and providing free treatment and medicines.
“We are in safe hands of qualified doctors now. It is a much needed restructure to pull out uneducated people like us from quacks who often cheated us. I’m happy that healthcare facilities are slowly changing in our areas. Now, pregnant women and children will face no problem,” a tribal said.
“Changing healthcare service was much needed to overcome quack menace in ‘Swabhiman Anchal’ and to ensure that people’s lives are not put at risk in the hands of the tricksters,” said District Collector Manish Agarwal.
PNN
