Doctors rue lack of sanitation staff, security at mohalla clinics
BATHINDA : An Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) clinic in Bathinda city is lying shut for over three months after a complete computer system and other items were stolen from an Aam Aadmi Clinic (AAC) in Beant Nagar.
Official sources said as per protocol, medicines to drug addicts cannot be disbursed offline but the health department has not taken any decision to allot a new desktop. Information gathered from different AACs on Saturday revealed that scores of clinics opened in the second phase on January 26 this year have a common complaint of unsecured clinic premises and lack of sanitation staff. Doctors from various facilities in urban and rural areas said the staff is pooling money to secure services of safai karamcharis.
In charge of AAC at Beant Nagar Dr Anju Bansal said on Saturday that an OOAT centre had an average footfall of 50-60 patients.“Since we do not have a functional online system of distribution of medicines, the centre is lying closed since February. Enrolled patients have been asked to approach other centres in the city to collect their medicines. But we keep getting the drug addicts and the district authorities were apprised of the matter
to take due action,” she said.
As per the police information, unidentified persons broke into the mohalla clinic, running from a populated urban slum location, on February 13 and took a central processing unit (CPU), monitor, printer and seven fans. Bansal said the medical facility has 20 female staff and two male colleagues and there is no chowkidar or safai karamchari. “We pool money to pay a person for cleanliness,” she added.
Dr Shekhar Mangla, who heads an AAC at Dhillon Colony in Parasram Nagar locality in the city also confirmed that he has been personally paying more than ₹1,500 per month to maintain hygiene at the clinic. “We have a daily footfall of more than 50 patients but there is no provision
for a sanitation worker. We were hoping that things may improve in the new system of health service but there is no change in it. AACs have been given tablets to compulsorily maintain complete data of patients and disbursement of medicines. But there are no printers, and the staff has to maintain records manually also,” said Mangla, a regular medical officer. In charge of a mohalla clinic admitted that he has outsourced a person against a monthly payment of ₹6,000 to maintain online and offline data. “I did not find it practically possible to maintain parallel records digitally and manually. So, I made unofficial arrangements to keep the data updated,” said the doctor.
Dr Gurmel Singh, who heads three AACs in Nathana block, said the workload of the staff has increased due to the non-availability of printers. “For every patient, doctors have to ensure data entry on tablets as well in a register. As the state government has failed to provide printers, clinic staff has to give handwritten prescriptions to each patient. It wastes human hours,” said Singh, president of the Bathinda unit of Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA).
District family welfare officer Dr Sukhjinder Gill, also the nodal officer for mohalla clinics in Bathinda district, said various health facilities in rural and urban areas that were upgraded as AACs are working as per the earlier human resource and facilities. “It is for the heads of the respective mohalla clinics to manage the sanitation as there is no provision for chowkidar or safai karamcharis,” he said.
Bathinda deputy medical commissioner Dr Ramandeep Singla said the issue of suspension of OOAT centre at Beant Nagar is in his knowledge and he will work to resolve it in the next week. “Patients can visit other centres in the city to get medicines. A new desktop can be provided as per rules. In charges can coordinate with the panchayats to secure the manpower for maintaining cleanliness at the mohalla clinics,” he added.