Srikakulam: Pregnant women, chronic patients unable to get medical aid

Srikakulam: Pregnant women and the patients with chronic diseases who required regular medical care are unable to get treatment at the government hospitals. In the wake of the outbreak of the coronavirus, some of the government medical personnel were deputed for survey duties to identify Covid-19 patients.

As a result of shortage of medical staff, the outpatient (OP) treatment was stopped at all the Primary Health Centres (PHC), Community Health Centres (CHC) and Area Hospitals (AH).

In spite of the instructions by the government to the doctors to provide medical aid to pregnant women and patients who are suffering from chronic diseases, they are not providing the medical services much to the chagrin of the patients and pregnant women.

Every month medical care is required for pregnant women. The Central government is also implementing a scheme Pradhana Mantri Suraksha Maatru Aabhiyaan (PMSMA) for the pregnant women. Under the scheme a special medical care is required for the women. But these services are not available to the women in the wake of outbreak of coronavirus. Most of the medical officers and staff are avoiding these duties on the pretext that they were undertaking coronavirus survey.

But as per the government guidelines, the staff of the paramedical department, the laboratory and the pharmacy must attend duties at their respective PHCs, CHCs and AH to provide emergency services. They also need to serve the chronic patients and the pregnant women.

Pregnant women, Gurugubelli Padma, Gurugubelli Ammaji, Tammineni Aswini of Thogaram village in Amudalavalasa mandal said that they were unable to get any medical aid. Pregnant women from Kalivaram village in the same mandal, Arasavalli Geetha Devi, Kunchala Sandhya and Sanapala Hymavathi complained that they did not get medicines also. The PHC medical staff of Thogaram are supposed to provide medical services to all these women.

"No stoppage of services for pregnant women and chronic patients and medical staff attendance is must at their respective hospitals," District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) Dr M Chenchayya told The Hans India.