Nabarangpur: Nabarangpur district has long struggled with a shortage of doctors and specialists. To provide better healthcare in rural and remote areas, 25 digital dispensaries were opened in 2017-18 at Rajiv Bhawans in various panchayats. Now, however, all these dispensaries remain locked.
A private Kolkata-based agency, Glocal Health Care System Pvt. Ltd., had signed an agreement to run these facilities. The dispensaries functioned properly in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The company was being paid Rs 217 per patient treated.
Setting up each dispensary cost Rs 12.5 lakh, covering equipment such as laboratory units, ECG machines, tables, chairs, and internet services. As per the agreement, the company was supposed to deposit a security of Rs 33.49 lakh, but failed to do so. It was receiving a monthly operating amount of Rs 8.17 lakh.
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After December 5, 2019, the contract could not be renewed. The health department adjusted the outstanding dues and paid the balance. Since then, the dispensaries have remained locked, leaving rural communities without access to healthcare. More than Rs 3 crore was spent on these 25 dispensaries, but the furniture and equipment now lie unused and are deteriorating. The company has not yet handed them over to the district health department.
Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Santosh Kumar Panda said a committee has been formed to send official letters to Glocal Health Care System Pvt. Ltd., instructing them to transfer the facilities. Several letters have already been sent. If the company still refuses, the district administration will seek the collector’s approval to form a committee, break the locks in the presence of a magistrate, and take possession.
According to the 2011 Census, the district’s population was 2,001,421, of which 14.53 per cent belonged to Scheduled Castes and 55.79 per cent to Scheduled Tribes. The district has 189 panchayats and 894 revenue villages. Despite this large population, there is a severe shortage of doctors and health staff.
Nabarangpur has 41 primary health centres, 10 community health centres, the Umerkote Sub-Divisional Hospital, and the Nabarangpur District Headquarters Hospital. Out of 68 sanctioned specialist posts, 53 are vacant.
Of the 307 sanctioned doctors, 127 posts remain unfilled. Among other staff positions, 94 out of 401 nursing posts, 23 out of 41 lab technicians, 10 out of 18 radiographers, 108 out of 520 female health workers, 361 out of 473 male health workers, 62 out of 120 pharmacy offi cers, 106 out of 122 Multi-Purpose Health Workers (Female), 67 out of 104 Multi-Purpose Health Workers (Male), six out of 10 PHEOs, 13 out of 25 clerks, and 40 out of 229 Class IV posts are lying vacant. In total, 890 health staff positions in the district are vacant, including 180 posts for doctors and specialists.
With such a large number of vacancies, the state of healthcare in the district is self-evident. Overburdened clerical staff and a shortage of doctors and specialists at primary and community health centres have compelled patients to depend heavily on the district headquarters hospital (DHH).
PNN