lack of doctors in the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Khariar of Nuapada district is a matter of concern for the people of Khariar, Boden and Sinapali blocks.
To make the situation more problematic for the people, the Health and Family Welfare Department has issued another order recently to transfer child specialist of the CHC Dr PC Achary without making any arrangement for a substitute.
The average daily attendance of patients in the OPD is more than 250 and IPD is 40 in Khariar CHC and about 52 per cent of the attending patients in the OPD are children. There are CHCs in Sinapali and Boden blocks, but paediatric services are not available there, which forces the people of the blocks to depend on Khariar.
Unfortunately, three out of four sanctioned posts of specialists in Khariar CHC are vacant. The posts of gynaecologist, medicine and surgery specialists are remaining vacant for long. The decision of the Health Department to take Dr Achary away from this CHC will make the existing situation worse.
“Transfer of the child specialist without providing a substitute will create a lot of problems for the people of my constituency,” said former Health Minister and Khariar MlA Duryodhan Majhi. “I have requested the Health Minister as well as the Principal Secretary, Health Department either to revise the order or to give a substitute. They have agreed to revise the transfer order,” he added. “Dr. Achary, is the only child specialist available to the people Khariar, Sinapali and Boden blocks of the district with a population of more than 3.5 lakhs.
There is one child specialist in District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) at Nuapada, which is located only at a distance of 8 km from Khariar Road, where Dr Achary is going to be posted. Thus, I feel that, there is no need to send Dr Achary to Khariar Road by keeping the post of specialist at Khariar vacant,” maintained Kalahandi MP Arka Keshari Deo.
Both, the MlA and the MP have written letters to the Minister and the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department to revise the transfer order.
The District Collector and the CDMO of Nuapada have also requested the higher authorities to revise the order, but the department has not responded. Dr Achary will be relieved from Khariar CHC on April 30 as directed, leaving one more post in the CHC vacant.