Primary health centres sans docs, patients rely on quacks

Kuldeep Chauhan 

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 20

Around 12 primary health centres (PHCs) in the remote areas of Shimla district and seven in trans-Giri region of Sirmaur are without doctors. The patients here have to depend upon quacks and faith healers for treatment. 

The villagers said all gram panchayats in Shimla and Sirmaur, including five gram panchayats at Tirhtan valley in Kullu district, were without health care facility.

“New born babies and mothers are a suffered lot. The ministers talk about health at door step, but there are no doctors,” they added.

Ramesh Verma, who runs an NGO at Sangrah in Sirmaur district, said villagers were dependent on quacks and faith healers for treatment. The BJP and Congress had always made promises about health care during elections, but nothing had been done so far. 

Dr Daleep Kanwar, CMO, Shimla, said 12 health centres which included Pulbahal, Jhina, Basadhar, Ghani, Jawahar Nagar, Delag, Kobag in Shimla rural, Belupur, Gopalpur, Ghanvi in Rampur subdivision, Kalighat and Bagada in Theog, Katla in Jubbal and Kotkhai were without doctors, adding that the government was seeking application for filling up the posts. 

Yogesh Kumar, panchayat pradhan, Dewat, said the health centre at Kupvi tehsil was the remotest and the poorest pocket in Chopal subdivision and had only two doctors for a population of about 40,000 people.

“There are no pharmacists in three panchyats of Dewat, Pabaas and Shilikian,” he added.

Similarly, the plight of patients at trans-Giri area of Shillai, Sangrah, Dadahu, Sirmaur is even worse as patients are carried on a stretcher till the road side and then taken to hospitals at Paonta Sahib, Nahan or Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) for treatment.

The health centres at Bogdhar, Chokhar, Koti Dhiman, Chadra, Lana Chehta, Kumrau and Dadahu, too, does not have doctors, revealed health officials.

The Shillai community health centre has four posts, but has only two doctors. While the Ronahat primary health centre is being run by an ayurvedic doctor. 

Dr Sanjay Sharma, CMO, Nahan, said the government had been appraised about the problem that the patients in the trans-Giri region were facing problems due to shortage of doctors and paramedical staff.

Raju Bharti, a resident of Gushani, said five panchayats of Mashiar, remotest in Kullu district, Sarchi, Shilli, Toong, Nuwanda, Dhar Gai in Thirhan had no doctor at the primary health centre.