Though the State Government, keeping in view the population norm, has established health centres in all the development blocks of Bastar district, but even after years of their inception, community health centres and primary health centres located in seven blocks of Bastar did not see any gynaecological or paediatric specialist.
People of seven blocks comprising over 8 lakh population still has to rush to Jagdalpur Medical College and Maharani Hospital attached to it for treatment of even minor ailments or for delivery of their women folk as CHCs and PHCs have been left to the mercy of nursing staff and are limited to first aid facilities at the best.
According to data provided by health department, in Bastar district 1,788 deaths were reported during 2012-13 which comprised 1,408 kids of 0-1 year age, 350 children of 1-5 years age and 30 women. Most of these deaths were assigned to non availability of health facility in rural health centres as well as delay in providing healthcare to those hapless creatures. Out of the seven Nangur, lohandiguda, Bakawand and Darbha blocks are stated to be worst affected.
lack of experts and poor State of PHCs and CHCs has tremendously increased the pressure on Medical College hospital to cater to a fairly large area. This can be gauged from the fact that Maharani Hospital attended 3 thousand labour cases in a year which is nearly twice facilitated by any district hospital.
Meanwhile, Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr K R Mourya assigned the lack of medical experts in PHCs and CHCs to non availability of doctors as no medicos wants to come to Bastar. State Government too has been made aware of the situation even if hectic efforts are on to appoint doctors in Bastar areas, he said and added that till the appointment of experts, in-charge medicos and RMs have been assigned the responsibility to provide healthcare to people.