KARWAR: A 21-year-old woman from Gorsagadde village in Yellapur taluk of Uttara Kannada district died due to non-availability of treatment at Manchikeri Primary Health Centre. Her family said that there were no doctors or nurses at the centre. The incident took place on Thursday, but it came to light after a team of the district health office visited the hospital on Saturday.
Rajeshwari Shrinivas Naik was suffering from tuberculosis and breathing problems for a couple of years. She was having trouble breathing even on Thursday. This is when her parents rushed her to Manchikeri. However, there was no doctor or nursing staff to give her treatment.
Rajeshwari needed oxygen to control her breathing. But since there was no staff, the parents decided to take her to the nearby Kundargi government hospital. However, Rajeshwari died on the way.
Rajeshwari’s mother Indira is a widow and a daily wage earner. The education expenditure of Rajeshwari and her two siblings was taken care by her relatives. Rajeshwari had got admission into a reputed college in Shivamogga.
She was a BCom third semester student at Sahyadri College. But following health problems, she had returned to her village recently and was under medication. Manchikeri is the second biggest village in Yellapur taluk, which is located 17km from the taluk headquarters. The hospital covers 18,000 people in 50 villages. Last year, a primary health centre was constructed with all facilities, including a laboratory. But doctors and nursing staff have not been appointment so far.
Many PHCs in small villages in the taluks have doctors, senior health assistants and nurses. But Manchikeri PHC has no doctors or nurses. Doctors and staffers visit the hospital a few days in a week on deputation. Though there is a nurse in the village, she is not an expert in handling emergency cases.
District Health Officer Ashok Kumar told Express that apart from TB, Rajeshwari had breathing problems. She was being treated at the government hospital. When she was taken to Manchikeri, there was a nurse to attend to her. But her parents took the girl to Kundargi hospital.
Expressing grief over the death for want of treatment, Yellapur MLA Shivaram Hebbar said: “The process of appointing doctors has begun. Within a couple of weeks, the state government will appoint a doctor at Manchikeri hospital also. Such incidents will not repeat.”