Napoklu CHC: Doctor shortage hits services

The community health centre in Napoklu has only two doctors for all the patients who visit it and this is proving a major problem for the centre.

There are 250 to 300 outpatients visiting the centre on a daily basis. The night shift at the CHC has only one doctor.

The residents have already urged the district in-charge minister and also the health minister and the concerned authorities to recruit more doctors to the centre and reduce the stress on the doctors who have to deal with all the outpatients themselves.

The Napoklu community health centre is meant for the service of the residents of as many as 24 villages.

Facilities at CHC

The community health centre has a laboratory, labour theatre, labour ward, eye testing room, ICTC wing, HIV counselling and testing facilities and X Ray facilities among others.

Due to the non-availibility of specialists, however, the patients have to travel till Madikeri or Virajpet for treatment.

Chokira Sudhi Appayya, resident of Bethu, has demanded that the authorities recruit specialist doctors for the community health centre.

Zilla Panchayat member Padiyammanda Murali Karumbaiah told DH, “At
present, two doctors are serving at the CHC. Doctors are not keen on serving in rural areas. The issue of shortage of doctors was raised in the gram sabha and it will be brought to the notice of the higher authorities.”