Patients suffer due to shortage of staff at health centres

As many as 150 patients visit the outpatient department (OPD) of community health centre (CHC), Sahnewal, on a daily-basis, but there is only one doctor to cater to all kind of patients there. And if there is any emergency operation, then OPD patients have to wait for the doctor.

This is not the story of Sahnewal CHC, but all 10 CHC’s in the district have been facing staff scarcity. If the staff is adequate, they don’t have any specialists. Not only this, many of the mini PHC (primary health centres) are running without doctors.

Community health centres play a crucial role in providing health services at distant areas of the district.

Keeping in view the large number of population, Ludhiana has a total of 10 CHCs, but that too with staff shortage. As per the ideal scenario, each CHC should have five doctors of surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology, medicine and other departments, like ENT.

Dr Puneet Pal Singh Sidhu, senior medical officer (SMO) at CHC, Sahnewal, said, “We had two doctors till September 13, but one of them has been transferred. It has become difficult to run the OPD with one doctor.”

CHC Sudhar, which has a 24x7 emergency centre at Boparai, for carrying out deliveries, is short of one gynaecologist.

SMO Dr RP Bhatia said, “All five posts at CHC Sudhar are filled, but we have only one gynaecologist working against two sanctioned posts at 24X7 emergency centre. Here, patients can come anytime, so two doctors are immediately required.”

Assistant civil surgeon Dr KS Saini said, “We have some posts vacant at various CHC’s. We have informed the authorities about the situation.”