Complaints against staff for dereliction of duties at PHCs

LB Nagar: Lakshmi from Jillelaguda has been moving from pillar to post to get vaccination for her son since December 26, but all her efforts have gone in vain. The reason is that the Primary Health Centre (PHC) is either closed or there is no staff at the centre. The state government’s prestigious sub centres for the PHC system has been losing its purpose due to lack of proper maintenance. There are complaints on non-availability of staff and closings of the centre even on working days. People from Jillelaguda, Meerpet, Balapur Nagar, Champapet and Karmanghat have been facing hardships with the non-functioning of the centres. Especially, pregnant women and women with month-old kids have been expressing their anger over staff not maintaining proper timings. 

The pregnant women who frequently visit the centres for regular checkups are facing inhuman acts from the staff. The people are demanding action against the erred staff. When the correspondent of The Hans India tried to contact MPHO of the PHCs Uma Devi, she didn’t respond. But one of the Asha workers who didn’t want to reveal her identity said that some people deliberately complained on the functioning of the centres. When asked why the centre was locked, she said that due to some reasons staff was on leave. She also said that they were under work pressure due to the on-going ‘Kanti Velugu’ programme. The PHCs are the basic first-line units providing primary health care. Each PHC has five or six sub-centres, staffed with health workers, for outreach services, said Mallikarjuna Rao, a health worker. 

BY Pasunuru Venkatesh