Anantapur: Revamping of primary health centres need of the hour

Anantapur: Rural Primary Health Centres (PHC) are in a precarious state and the state government needs to have a fresh look at boosting medical infrastructure and basic medical equipment in every PHC. People's organisations and even the patients particularly women are demanding the government to overhaul the overall medical system and boost medical facilities and make every PHC vibrant so that patients need not flock to the headquarter Government General Hospital (GGH) for even minor ailments treatment.

The present health scenario is in such a state that patients from mandal villages are flocking to GGH for even minor ailments like fever and for deliveries by pregnant women. The general feeling is that the GGH should function as a super specialty hospital catering to major ailments and emergencies. The GGH is now over-burdened with patients with minor ailments and with patients that should be handled by PHCs and regional hospitals in the district. PHCs should be manned by general practitioners who will be able to address the general ailments that does not require the attention of specialised doctors. The general practitioners like in the past should take an integrated view of patient's complaints and should be able to treat general ailments relating to any subject instead of straight away sending them to a specialist concerned.

In the absence of a policy to strengthen PHCs, the GGH is overburdened with patients from far and wide defeating the very concept of 3-tier medical system of PHC-Regional hospital-GGH under which patients are segregated for addressing their ailments at various levels.

Raptadu mandal with 27 villages is an example of poor amenities in the PHCs. Nearly 50,000 people are dependent on Raptadu PHC. PHC sub-centres are functioning in Gondireddipalle, Bukkacherla, Gandlaparti, Bandameedapalle, Palacherla and Marur villages. Neither sub-centres or PHC is adequately equipped. Much of medical equipment supplied long ago is rusting in sub-centres. This has resulted in mandal patients overlooking the PHC and sub-centres and over-burdening the GGH. This is the general picture of an average PHC and that of sub-centres.

Recently Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy at a review meeting spoke of plans to bring back the 'Family doctor' concept at the village level. Presently Village Clinics buildings are under construction for providing broad based medical and health services.