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Staff crunch ails health centres
Nearly half-a-dozen patients left the Bholakpur Urban Primary Health Centre on Friday, as there were only class IV employees present at the centre. This is not the first time that patients left UPHC disappointed, almost 90 per cent of the centres in the city close by afternoon.
According to NUHM norms, the centre should work from 8 am to 8 pm but more than 90 per cent of the centres close by noon
Hyderabad: Nearly half-a-dozen patients left the Bholakpur Urban Primary Health Centre on Friday, as there were only class IV employees present at the centre. This is not the first time that patients left UPHC disappointed, almost 90 per cent of the centres in the city close by afternoon.
The Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHC) were established with an aim to provide equitable primary healthcare services to the urban population with special focus on slum dwellers and vulnerable population like homeless, rag-pickers and migrant workers. They are 112 UPHCs in Hyderabad, but 90 per cent of them shut down by 3 pm.
According to the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) norms, the centres should function from 8am to 8pm and a full-time doctor must work from 8 am to 4 pm and a part-time doctor needs to work from 4 pm to 8 pm.
Speaking to The Hans India, Karuna Vakati, Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare, Mission director NUHM said that last week appointment orders were issued to 80 part-time doctors and additional 172 staff nurses, apart from that 293 Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) would also be inducted.
In the meanwhile, patients at UPHCs are returning disappointed, as the centres are either closed or there is no adequate medical staff. There are 10 places in the city where two centres are functioning from the same building.
For instance, the Musheerabad and Bholakpur Urban Primary Health Centres are housed in the same building. A class IV employee said that last year the Musheerabad centre was demolished as it had become weak.
Citing the reason for the delay in appointment of medical staff, a senior official at Health and Family Welfare Department said, “Three years ago, Rs 17 crore was given to the GHMC to undertake appointments, butsix months back the civic body sent a letter requesting the Health and Family Welfare Department to complete the recruitment.”
According to NUHM rules, Urban Local Bodies (ULB) should implement the project and every centre should have a minimum of five ANMs, but in many centres there is not more than one nurse present.
When asked about the lack of nurses at UPHCs, Dr V Rajashekar, state programme manager, National Urban Health Mission, Telangana said, “We are in the process of recruiting staff but there are nine 24/7 centres in the city in places such as Dabeerpura, Yakutpura, Amberpet, Puranapul, Begum Bazar, ChinthalBasti, Gagan Mahal, Borabanda and Lalapet.”
Teaching hospitals overloaded
Due to the lack of staff and improper functioning of UPHCs, Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital are crowded with patients. Dr Muralidhar Gupta, RMO, Gandhi Hospital said, “On an average we get 2,000 out-patients daily. If the UPHCs function for a full-time then the number of patients can reduce.”
In a radius of 5 km off Gandhi Hospital there are five Urban Primary Health Centres at Pan Bazaar, Rasoolpura, Lalapet, Bholakpur and Addagutta. Last year, the Government of India sanctioned 33 UPHCs for Hyderabad which still have to be put to use.
According to NUHM norms, there should be one Urban Community Health Centre (UCHC) for 2.5 lakh population.
