Acute need for TB hospital

- There is no full-time medical Officer There is no lab technician There is no one to bring stock The medical officer is on contractual basis
- The King George V Silver Jubilee Memorial TB Clinic (plaque seen above) was demolished a few years ago and in its place a health centre was built There is 1.5 acre land available for the construction of a new TB hospital and maternity wing A survey was conducted by the District collector a few years ago but there has been no progress after that

Dabeerpura: Mohammed Ibrahim, a resident of Santosh Nagar had to return home last Wednesday from the Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) Dabeerpura as the Directly Observed Treatment, short course) TB DOTS were not given to him by the health centre. The authorities only give vaccinations to new born babies on Wednesday.  

Not so long ago in the very same spot where the UPHC stands was the King George V Silver Jubilee Memorial TB Clinic and patients from even other parts of the city took treatment but the building was demolished and now what one finds is just the foundation stone in English and Urdu language that dates back to 1938.

Five years ago, a survey was conducted by the district collector but after that there has been no progress say UPHC staff. Even the UPHC is understaffed and there is no lab technician. There is no attender to bring stock and the medical officer too is on contractual basis.

Rizwana, a patient who has been coming to the health centre said, “The treatment is good but lack of staff is a major issue.” Padvari Sreeja, medical officer, UPHC Dabeerpura said, “It has just been a fortnight since I took charge and I am trying my best to provide the best facilities.”

The medical officer is available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Many patients come to the UPHC based on the reputation of the old TB hospital. “It is an old hospital. Even my father used to come here,” says Ameena, a patient.

On an average about 100 patients visit the health centre every day. A staffer on condition of anonymity said, “The deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali had visited the centre a few years ago and said that a new TB hospital would be built and a survey was also undertaken but there has been no progress.”

There is one-and-a-half acre of land available for construction. The government had plans of constructing a maternity wing and a separate TB hospital. Rahmat Ali, a local says, “Vaccination to new born babies is administered and at the same place TB patients too come. The infants as well as parents are susceptible to diseases.”

M M Farooqui