Though the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 clearly states that medical services promised to the physically-challenged in the act should reach everyone, including those in rural areas, the norm is hardly complied with.
Right from the reluctance to hold medical camps in backward areas to other issues, the Health Department is cold-shouldering physically-challenged in backward areas.
“It is said that the camps should be organised in the presence of the District Medical Officers. Unfortunately, till now none of the DMOs have shown genuine interest in this regard,” lamented Naser Manayil, assistant secretary, Kerala Vikalanga Samyukta Samiti (KVSS). “Even if they conduct such camps, they never served the purpose for which they are held,” he added. He said that the Medical Board which consults the physically-challenged to issue disability certificates should have five doctors in it. “Instead, most of the camps have just two doctors who come at 11.30 am and wind up their activities by 3 pm. “At least 15 minutes should be spent on every patient and there are more than hundred people waiting for their turn in the camps. How can these two doctors complete consultation of hundreds of patients in such a limited time?” he asks. Rasheed Anappara, a physically-challenged person from Alappuzha, said for a physically-challenged person to consult a doctor in government institutions has become a strenuous task.
“I have 80 per cent disability. But I still have to wait for hours in a queue to consult the doctor. This is happening at a time when the Directorate of Social Justice has passed an order directing hospitals to arrange special queues for people like me,” he pointed out.
Rasheed added that though he was hospitalised twice at the Kottayam Medical College, on both occasions, he had to make do with lying down in a verandah of the MCH for treatment. There is increasing clamour to make the entire process of issuing disability certificates transparent, as complaints about the exercise becoming a mere farce steadily rise.
“Even without proper consultation, the doctors would just jot down an arbitrary percentage. But there are hardly any efforts to register the reality,” he said. However, Dr P K Jameela, Director of Health Services, has dismissed all allegations. “All these allegations are due to the misconceptions that are rampant among them. Every district hospital has medical boards with experts. A holder with permanent disability certificate need not come every time as their disability is known and recorded. Without realising this fact, many of them would come often to renew their certificates,” she said.