Kendrapara: Healthcare services in rural parts of the district have deteriorated due to lack of doctors in 24 public health centres (PHCs), a report said.
With the situation already worsening due to the pandemic, such deteriorating healthcare services have severely hit the residents. The district being flood prone, many people die due to water-borne and vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria.
The situation is quite worrisome in rural areas where there are very few doctors to attend to patients. The situation in urban areas is more or less same as doctors attend to fewer patients due to Covid guidelines. As a result, quacks are ruling the roost in villages while private nursing homes make hay taking advantage of the situation.
An RTI activist Bibhuti Bhushan Rout alleged that around 24 PHCs in rural areas of the district have no doctors. These PHCs are two in Rajkanika, four in Derabish, seven in Mahakalapara, two in Marshaghai, three in Rajnagar, two in Aul and two each in Garadpur and Pattmundai. This has severely deprived the residents living in riparian villages and in remote corners of the district in availing healthcare services.
Things have come to such a pass that PHCs in remote areas like Dangamal, Talachua, Ishwarpur villages are going without doctors for last two years. As a result, villagers take the help of quacks when they fall ill.
Quacks, mainly from Bengali community, fleece gullible villagers. Reports said villagers’ increasing dependency on quacks has resulted in many deaths. The death of a woman and a child at Tantiapala village in 2019 is a case in point.
Pratap Chandra Padhy, a social activist, said dialysis services have been suspended in the district headquarters hospital due to pandemic. Moreover, very few patients turn up at rural health centres due to strict enforcement of social distancing norms.
The PHCs with doctors don’t touch patients due to fear of Covid. This apart, the state government engaging many doctors in Covid-19 duties has led to a deterioration of healthcare services.
Sarpanch Basudev Jena of Nikirai panchayat narrating his woes alleged that he admitted his pregnant daughter to a private nursing home due to a mess in the district headquarters hospital. However, his daughter delivered a stillborn child there due to medical negligence. He has lodged a complaint at Town police station.
When contacted, Collector Samarth Verma said the district administration is appointing para-medical staff at PHCs with no doctors while doctors are being deputed to those health centres in regular intervals. He however, assured to address the problem on receiving specific complaints.
PNN