Will the vacancies be ever filled up?

Expressbuzz, March 29, 2010
BHAWANIPATNA: Health services in Kalahandi district have gone comatose in the absence of adequate service providers. Many institutions and infrastructure created over the years under different national and statelevel programmes are not in a condition to serve in the absence of manpower.


The crisis has paralysed services in different streams of medicines like allopathy, homeopathy and ayurveda.

In the field of allopathy besides one district headquarter hospital with regional diagnostic centre there is one subdivisional hospital, six hospitals and community health centres each, four upgraded primary health centers, 40 primary health centers, three first referral health units, 14 mobile health units and 242 sub-centers in the district.

Against the 180 sanctioned posts of doctors 80 were vacant till February end. After public discontentment fresh posting of 26 new doctors by State Government on 11th February to tide over the crisis.

Ironically soon after these postings, 12 doctors were relieved after joining to continue their PG studies and of the rest 14, eight have been selected for PG and they too may leave any time.

Such a situation only derails the very purpose of appointment of new doctors, exposing the lack of willpower of the government.

That apart, 10 doctors remain absent unauthorisedly, but no stringent action has yet been taken against them.

On the other hand, seven PHCs in vulnerable pockets like Artal, Behera, Kankri, Utchala, Habaspur, Dedar and Badpujhariguda are running without doctors while in several other areas the health centers are short of staff.

Homeopathy and Ayurveda: The district has 18 government- run homeopathy dispensaries with seven v a c a n c i e s a n d 2 0 Ayurvedic dispensaries with four vacancies.

Even as the Government claims that it is encouraging Ayush system of medicines, due attention is not paid to the stream.

The Ayurvedic dispensary-cum-OPD set up four years back at Bhawanipatna under Ayush is being managed by deputed doctors from other Ayurvedic dispensaries of the district. Short supply of Ayurvedic medicines to the dispensaries and nonsupply of medicines under RLTAP has worsened the situation.

Now against the requirement of minimum Rs 50,000 medicines per annum, only about Rs 15,000 worth of medicines on an average are supplied to each of the dispensaries through central purchase system at Bhubaneswar which is not adequate to meet the need of patients.