CHC has all facilities, but no doctors

Shirva Community Health Centre, which was built at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore has all the facilities to boast about, but what it lacks is adequate number of doctors to treat patients at the hospital.

The hospital, which is located on the Belman-Katapady State Highway was working as the Primary Health Centre 15 years ago and was upgraded as Community Health Centre with an intention to provide better service to the villagers.

This building constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore at present has 30 beds and is serving patients under Kaup Assembly constituency. Depite having all the modern infrastructure, lack of doctors is an impediment for the functioning of the centre.

Only two doctors- a senior medical officer and a dentist work here of four sanctioned posts of medical officers, three are remaining vacant. Along with it, the posts of general surgeon, physician and x-ray technicians too are lying vacant.

In an average CHC gets 150 patients daily. The number shoots up to 200 a day during the monsoon. Though the government has been supplying enough medicines to the patients who visit the hospital, there is no pharmacist to distribute them.

The posts of staff nurses have been filled, but the post of a male health assistant worker is vacant. One sanctioned post of first grade assistant too has not been filled. Out of the ten posts of the group D workers, only one is a regular employee while other vacancies have been outsourced.

Speaking about the problem to Deccan Herald, Udupi District Health Officer Dr Ramachandra Bayari said that the State government had called for 750 doctors’ posts across the State in February. However, only 372 applications were received, of which 250 were appointed. A total of 17 doctors were appointed in Udupi district.

The doctors were appointed in six CHCs of the district, but none of them took the job. The doctors are unwilling to work in villages, said Bayari.