Staff crunch, doctor unavailability plague hospitals of Odisha

Not just vacant posts but unavailability of doctors has paralysed healthcare services in government hospitals, fuelling resentment among people in Jagatsinghpur district.
Representational Image. (Photo | PTI)
Representational Image. (Photo | PTI)

JAGATSINGHPUR: Not just vacant posts but unavailability of doctors has paralysed healthcare services in government hospitals, fuelling resentment among people in Jagatsinghpur district. Sources said as many as 22 out of 66 sanctioned doctor posts are lying vacant in the district headquarters hospital (DHH) apart from 89 vacancies in other community health centres (CHC) and primary health centres (PHC).

In most of the CHCs, vacant posts of pediatric, gynaecologist and medicine specialists force patients to rely on private hospitals, or worse, quacks. At the DHH, there are also allegations that out of 24 hours, patients are able to avail only eight to 10 hours of free services at the pathology laboratory due to inadequate lab technicians and absence of a lone pathologist.

The radiologist post is also yet to filled which prevents patients from getting X-ray and ultrasound tests done. The vacancies apart, sources said, most of the Niramaya counters do not have adequate medicine supplies due to which poor patients suffer. The scenario in CHCs is similar.For instance, in Redhua CHC under Raghunathpur block, there are three doctors against sanctioned strength of six but they have reportedly been irregular in performing their duties.

In their absence, AYUSH doctors have been attending to the patients and also prescribing allopathic medications. The matter came to the fore during the CHC superintendent’s recent visit and show cause notice served to the three doctors for dereliction of duty.

This, locals allege, defeats the claims of providing free healthcare to the poor. Contacted, chief district medical officer Khetrabasi Dash confessed to vacancies of medical staff in the DHH. “There is shortage of lab technicians, radiologist and doctors at the DHH. We have informed our higher-ups about the situation and needful steps will be taken,” he said.

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