MALKANGIRI : Gone are the days when quacks ruled the roost at ‘Swabhiman Anchal’ of Malkangiri district.With adequate posting of doctors and paramedical staff at different locations of the erstwhile cut-off region, survival has become tough for the quacks. 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 with the help of Ayush doctors, pharmacists, ANMs, attendants and other paramedical staff.
The staff of service providers like Government-run Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and those functioning in Public Private Partnership (PPP) at the Maoist hotbed of Jodamba and Janbai in ‘Swabhiman Anchal’ are now reaching out to villagers leaving no space for fake doctors.
The primary health centres operating under the ‘Aarogya Plus’ project in PPP mode has further helped in giving a much-needed facelift to health services at the doorsteps of people. The health scenario is fast improving in ‘Swabhiman Anchal’ and incidents of dumping of huge quantity of medicines at one place and treating patients with health problems at weekly fairs is now a matter of past, said Raghu Hantal, a resident of Jodamba village. In Maoist infested Jantapai, doctors have replaced quacks who used to treat people at weekly fair every Friday.
“The quacks used to charge much more than qualified doctors. Further, due to the complications caused by antiquated and wrong treatment, the patients had to pay a heavy price. But now, we are safe at the hands of qualified doctors who move from one village to the other and render free health service at our doorsteps,” said Udhav Hantal, a resident of Janbai.“Restructuring health care service was much needed to overcome the 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. There has been a drastic reduction in the quack practice in the region, he claimed.
Notably, at least two PHCs in ‘Swabhiman Anchal’, one in Mudulipada of Bonda Hill and the other in Motu under Arogya Plus and at least nine Maa Gruha centres functioning in various parts of the region in PPP mode have made a difference while improving the health scenario in the district.