BHUBANESWAR: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has pulled up Odisha Government for failing to develop adequate physical infrastructure and delivery facilities in the State.
A recent audit report indicated that more than 50 per cent (pc) Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal did not have facility for delivery.
“The reasons for shortfall in the institutional delivery were distance of health centres from villages, lack of access by public transport and unhygienic surroundings of the facilities,” the CAG found.
The percentage of health centres, which did not have facility for antenatal check-ups (ANC), was significantly higher in five States including Odisha. Of 167 facilities across the country which do not have ANC facility, 19 CHCs and 53 PHCs belonged to the State.
The audit observed an increasing trend of deliveries with obstetric complications. Odisha was among nine States where more than ten pc of such deliveries were observed. Since any pregnancy can develop complications at any stage, timely provision of obstetric care services is extremely important for management of such cases.
Deficiencies in services rendered by the ambulances such as delayed response time and not attending to calls were found in five States including Odisha and Uttarakhand. During verification of records of selected Type-A sub-centres, it was found that 50 to 80 pc home deliveries were not attended by Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) in the State.
The proportion of male sterilisation (vasectomy) was only 2.3 pc in 28 States/UTs indicating gender imbalances. It was between one to four pc in 10 States including Odisha, UP and West Bengal.
Odisha also lags behind in availing State and National Quality Assurance Certification for public health facilities. Of 42,503 public health facilities in the country surveyed by the CAG, 106 have received state-level quality assurance certification and four received national certification while only two facilities, one from each category, are from Odisha.
As per the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), each PHC is to be manned by a medical officer supported by 13 paramedical and other staff. Audit of 305 PHCs in 13 states including Odisha disclosed that no doctor was posted in 67 PHCs as of March 2016.
The percentage of shortage of staff nurses was more than 50 in eight states of Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, UP and Uttarakhand, the CAG found.
Lack of health infra
19 CHCs and 53 PHCs do not have ANC facility
50 to 80 pc home deliveries were not attended by SBA in the State
Odisha was among nine states where more than ten pc of obstetric complications during deliveries observed
It also lags behind in availing State and National Quality Assurance Certification for public health facilities