Members of the Zila Swasthya Sammiti at its meeting on Tuesday expressed concern over the poor healthcare system in the district. They were critical over poor infrastructure in several hospitals and CHCs and PHCs.
The members demanded that the Government fill up the posts of doctors and specialists lying vacant in the CHCs and PHCs. It was revealed that there are a number of CHCs running without doctors and in some with a single doctor while the PHCs, as per the Government policy, should have four specialists.
The CDMO informed that there are 58 posts of doctors lying vacant besides scores of support staffs. Over Rs 16 crore allocated for implementation of schemes like inoculation, child and family welfare, pulse polio, TB control and leprosy eradication, pre- and post-natal care and maternity care remains unspent.
Zilla Parishad president Debraj Behera, Pipili MlA Pradeep Maharathy and PRI office-bearers spoke about the healthcare problems in the district. Puri MlA and Minister Maheswar Mohanty asked the officials to take initiatives to implement the schemes effectively.
Chief of the district Rural Health Mission Susanta Kumar Praharaj presented a report while Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Gyanendra Sahoo conducted the proceedings of the meeting.