Although more than a decade has passed since the formation of Uttarakhand, more steps are awaited by the state health department for appointing medical officers at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of Uttarakhand.
Due to the acute shortage of medical officers at ground level, the villagers who are living in the fringe parts of the state are forced to traverse several kilometers to access to the medical and health services.
The shortage of medical officers in Uttarakhand has been hampering state health department’s efforts for providing immediate medical relief to especially those villagers, who are living in the remote areas of Uttarakhand. Department sources told that maximum number of posts had been lying vacant in PHCs than district or base hospitals, causing huge inconvenience to those villagers, who are living in the mountainous parts of the state.
According to sources the worst affected districts are Rudraprayag in Garhwal division and Champawat in Kumaon division of Uttarakhand. A total of three and five doctors are posted in 24 and 14 PHCs in Rudraprayag and Champawat district respectively.
Correspondingly, 13, 14, 12, 10 and 15 doctors are catering the medical and health needs of patients, who are posted in 50, 27, 24, 36 and 39 PHCs in Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, and Haridwar districts of the state.
The shortage of medical officers is equally worse in Tehri, Bageshwar, Almora and Pauri districts as 17 doctors in 51 PHCs, eight doctors in 23 PHCs, 25 doctors in 71 PHCs and 30 doctors in 62 PHCs are providing the medical relief to patients. Villagers living in remote areas travel several kilometers to access medical and health care facilities thus jeopardizing their lives for hours till they reach at district or base hospitals.
Facing the acute shortage of medical officers especially in health centres that are operating in the higher parts of the state, pharmacists are providing medical relief to patients, referring seriously ill patients to the higher centres.
One official on the conditon of anonimity told The Pioneer that health directorate has been regularly urged to appoint more number of medical officers to meet the medical need of patients.
He further informed that doctors on contracts are appointed in the higher parts of the state for providing medical relief to patients.