Chennai: Polythene bags and newspapers, strewn all over the floor beside patients sitting or lying down is a common sight at a Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Alandur, besides the crowd of patients at the small reception counter which portray a chaotic picture.
The PHC has very few staff members who run around looking lost until the doctor-in-charge arrives, after which things seem to proceed with the patients suddenly rushing towards the doctor’s cabin to be the first in line.
Inside the PHC, patients have to share beds due to the lack of their availability The unclean situation prevails inside the wards as well. As patients are generally referred to other government hospitals for treatment, some of them are seen waiting for autos as ambulances are always unavailable.
While Government hospitals in the state remain in the good books of people all over the country, the PHCs, maintained by the civic bodies, earn the wrath of the people for their poor infrastructure, staff crunch and substandard treatment and the PHC at Alandur is just one such example.
The PHCs were setup and upgraded under the Urban Primary Health Services (UPHS), utilising the total allocation of '7,000 crore for the state. It seemed quite promising to help the people end their woes in terms of health care. However, the PHCs are found to be failing to relieve the patients as per their needs due to the lack of facilities and staff.
Alandur zone 12, which is an extended area of the Greater Chennai Corporation has five health centres, located in B. V. Nagar (KK Nagar), Pazavanthangal, Adambakkam, Mugalaivakkam and New Street. However, these PHCs are in a bad shape. The maternity ward does not exist in any of the PHCs, other than the one on New Street, Alandur. The patients grieve due to the lack of staff for maternity services and the unavailability of equipment.
The lack of cleanliness is a common complaint there. With the lack of a proper seating facility, some patients are seen lying on the ground. “Malaria, tuberculosis and viral fever are being treated here. But I feel one can fall prey to these diseases due to the poor hygiene and unclean situation at the PHCs,” said Mohd. Iqbal, a patient at the Madhavaram PHC.
Vanitha, another patient, expresses her worries. “We are referred to the Government Maternity Hospital when in need of a surgery. We are not even provided with ambulance services, though it is made available for free by the Government.
The patients at other PHCs do not get the maternity services availed but are just provided with medicines. The regular check up for the maternity care takes place only at the Alandur PHC,” she said.
Though the woes of patients seem to never end, officials deny the same. “We have a sufficient number of ambulances, but they remain occupied at times. As we have been acquainted with the problem, we will propose to the Corporation to avail more of them,” said an official.
Zone 15 of the corporation has a similar story to convey. The PHC in West Tambaram was remodelled recently and is functioning without a full-time physician.
The PHC has a 10-bed maternity ward that was only recently constructed at a cost of '50 lakh. The main wellness centre provides for the citizens of Ranganathapuram, Pulikuradu, Kadapperi, Sundaram Community, Burma Community and Samiyar Thottam.
“A physician from the nearby Patel Nagar health centre takes care of patients here at the PHC as an aspect of an extra liability given to him. Without a full-time physician, it is challenging for para-medical employees to deal with crucial situations. It leads to arguments between staff and patients at times,” said a nurse at the Tambaram PHC.
“We are upgrading the PHCs and providing maternal and childcare services at all the centres. The services are very good at the Government hospitals and there is a separate block for maternity care so we refer the crucial cases there for better treatment. For PHCs, the deployment of more staff would be done and the City Health Official has been informed of the need for the same. It will be undertaken very soon,” said a corporation official on account of anonymity.
