A study has found that during the Covid-19 pandemic, people with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) face several problems in availing healthcare in Khordha district.
The report of the mixed-method study jointly conducted by the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) of ICMR and the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in May-June last year was published on Monday. The survey covered 491 persons with at least one non-communicable disease with 252 being males. It was found that about two-thirds of these people underwent problems in their routine investigation and 67per cent had trouble in getting daily care and 61per cent in reaching hospitals.
Nearly 59per cent people had problems for doctor appointment, 56per cent in emergency treatment and 47per cent in accessing pharmacy while 46per cent people’s healthcare got delayed.
Besides, 37per cent thought they would not have healthcare due to Covid-related social restrictions, lockdown while 16per cent avoided visiting hospitals for the fear of Covid-19 infection.