The Voice of Patient forum in association with the Sahayog and the Rajya Rogi Adhikar Mancha released a Citizen Report Card at a Press meet here a few days after the World TB Day 2016 to raise awareness on increasing TB burden in the State.
According to the report, Odisha has failed to detect around 55,000 TB cases and 3,000 MDR (Multi-Drug-Resistant) TB cases and could not reach cure rate target of 90 per cent because of poor programme and treatment management by the Revised National Tuberculosis Programme.
“Almost a quarter of the State’s labs out of 549 continued to remain defunct due to shortage of trained staffs or defective old microscopes. Many drug-sensitive TB patients are becoming drug resistant due to poor treatment support. A good number of MDR patients are also turning to almost incurable Extensively-Drug-Resistant TB (XDR) due to haphazard or improper treatment,” the report observed.
Patient or family members are not being sensitised properly at the start or during the treatment period when sufficient funds are available for free diagnosis and treatment.
On the other hand patients spend huge amount of money from their pocket to carry out diagnostic tests in private labs and for purchasing of medicines from private medicine stores. Even in Government medical colleges where TB drugs are available in plenty, patients are often asked to buy anti-TB medicines from private pharmacies, said forum co-convenor Bijayalaxmi Rautaray.
Rogi Adhikar Mancha president Amiya Bhusah Biswal opined that the problem of patients and infection cycle would continue unless and until challenges are responded timely.
Tusharkanti Ray, senior public health expert and one of pioneers in DoTs strategy in Odisha, emphasized on compassionate patient care, patient centric innovation, their proper implementation to reach the goal for controlling TB by 2030.
Similarly, Sahayog president Bikram Swain stressed on publication of more reports on the TB in the media.