Shortage of docs in rural areas
Tribune News Service

Mandi (Poonch), June 1
As Chief Minister Omar Abdullah begins revamping health care in the state, he faces the toughest challenge in rural areas where the health care is literally in a shambles.

Reliable sources in the Health Department in Mandi told The Tribune that of the required strength of 28 doctors in the health institutions here, including Sub-district Hospital (SDH), six Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and four allopathic dispensaries, just five doctors are available.

Since a majority of the health institutions are lacking specialised doctors, the people, mostly poor, who seek health care from the government health institutions, are feeling the pain, the sources said.

“As against the requirement of 12 doctors in six primary health centres and eight doctors for allopathic dispensaries, we are having just four doctors for the PHCs (two PHCs are even without a doctor) and only one doctor for allopathic dispensaries.

Even in the SDH, Mandi, as against the requirement of 8 doctors, there are just two doctors available. Out of these two, one is on working on a contract basis”, a senior official of health department here told The Tribune on terms of anonymity.

“Since we are facing shortage of doctors for a majority of the health institutions here, people, especially poor, who come for treatment at these institutions are suffering”.

Even as the Health Department is facing the shortage of doctors for health institutions across this backward area in Poonch, people here, mostly poor, say that the government has failed to take healthcare to their doorsteps as it claims all the time.

“There is not a single health institution in this area where you find adequate number of doctors. Since most of the health institutions are facing shortage of doctors, we people are suffering”, said Muhammad Shafi, a resident of Loran.

“Though government claims to provide health care even in the remotest part of the state and take health care to the doorsteps of common man, it has badly failed to do so.

However, government alone cannot be held responsible for all this mess as doctors too don’t want to serve poor people in remote areas and instead prefer to live in cities. Doctors are no longer guided by love for poor people and majority of them are running after money”.

Block Medical Officer (BMO), Mandi, Dr Shamim Mir told The Tribune: “Though we are facing shortage of doctors, we have managed the situation within the available resources”.