On CM home turf, ailing health service
WOES Of 4 doctors, one remains present at Kanchanpur CHC in Dholpur; power cuts force patients to sit outside
An unlikely sight welcomes patients at the government community health centre in Kanchanpur village of Dholpur district in Rajasthan.
Sixty-two-year-old Kamaldeep Singh is seen sitting on the ground outside the facility, twitching uncomfortably in the unbearable heat. Singh, who is suffering from diarrhoea, had moved outside as the centre has no electricity.
“I couldn’t sit inside because there is no electricity and the beds in the health centre also don’t have any mattresses. I came here to get treated for diarrhoea but am forced to sit in the heat outside as the centre even lacks the basic facilities,” Singh told HT.
A few metres away, some other patients sit on a bench as saline is administered to two of them, the bottles tied to a window grille.
The community health centre, which caters to several nearby villages, lacks even the basic facilities, with only three of its staff tending to its patients.
“There are four doctors at this health centre but only one remains present. Today, there are only one doctor and two nursing staff here,” alleged Singh.
Another patient, Shaukat Khan said, “People admitted to the hospital face numerous inconveniences because of the lack of facilities. Those who can move have no choice but to stay indoors without electricity. Patients don’t know who to call if their situation worsens,” said Khan.
Activists too slammed the lack of facilities at the hospital saying that government apathy has put the life of patients at risk.
“If the facilities are so bad at a community health centre on the home turf of our chief minister, then what can be said about such facility at other places? The patients are reeling under the heat and far from getting relief, they are subjected to this inhuman treatment,” said Mukesh Goswami of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS).
Goswami, who visited the centre Saturday morning, said several people complained that the situation has been this bad at the centre for quite some time.
“I came here for treatment but have been sitting in the heat since morning as there is hardly any staff in the hospital. Given the fact that the beds don’t have any mattresses, sitting indoors is also not an option,” said Pankaj Kumar, another patient.
Contacted, Rajesh Mittal, chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Dholpur, brushed aside the patients’ allegations. “It is absolutely wrong to say that the centre lacks facilities. There is electricity and all the beds also have mattresses. There are four doctors and the staff strength is also around 13-14. Therefore, these are all false claims,” said Mittal.