BENGALURU: A primary health centre run from a school at a village in Mandya district, the pathetic condition of centres situated at police headquarters in different parts of Karnataka and rented buildings accommodating these healthcare facilities are some of the important observations made by member-secretaries of District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) during their visit to 100 PHCs recently.
A report, prepared by DLSAs and submitted by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) to the Karnataka High Court, pointed out that of the 100 PHCs, six are ‘bad’, six ‘very good’, 67 ‘good’ and 22 ‘average’.
The PHC at Shankarapura village of Mandya district is run from two classrooms of a school. The condition of the building and ambience is not right for the centre, the member secretaries stated. Three PHCs are being run in a rented building, while four centres are located at police headquarters in Dharwad, Doora village in Mysuru, Bellavi in Tumakuru and Hiremagaluru in Chikkamagaluru are in a dilapidated condition and require immediate attention, they stated.
The teams, which also visited one Community Health Centre, revealed that many PHCs are not complying with the Indian Public Health Standards and also lacked basic cleanliness and hygiene.
‘Repair PHCs in bad shape’
The report was prepared in response to a High Court direction on public interest litigation filed by Gurunath Vadde of Bidar district. He had demanded that at least three PHCs and sub-centres per district should be visited to ascertain the facilities available.
The KSLSA, in its report, recommended to the State Government to take steps to repair the PHCs that are in dilapidated condition, ensure proper hygiene/cleanliness, provide proper and adequate residential accommodation to doctors and other staff to let their services be available 24x7 for any emergency. The report pointed out that 67 PHCs out of 100 do not have residential accommodation for doctors and paramedical staff.
It recommended that all PHCs should provide treatment to Covid patients, district health officers must inspect PHCs regularly, CCTVs should be installed at all centres as a public safety measure, services should be upgraded, etc.
KSLSA recommended to the State Government to issue necessary notification for the minimum mandated standard of services per IPHS. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum sought a response from the government on the report.
What PHCs have and lack...
25PHCs have emergency ambulances services, while 76 do not
75centres have labour rooms, while 26 do not
70have suggestion/complaint box, while 31 PHCs do not
45PHCs have psychiatric treatment available, while 56 have no such facility