Assam Government health institutions fall short on various parameters

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Despite the government’s efforts to boost the healthcare sector of Assam, government health institutions like district hospitals, civil hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, primary health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs) fall short on various parameters like human resources, service quality, diagnosis, availability of medical equipment, accountability, etc. This has been reflected in the report of the Swasthya Sewa Utsav that was conducted in the State by the Assam Government in April this year.

The Swasthya Sewa Utsav was launched to assess the quality and infrastructure of government health facilities and bridge the gaps so that these health facilities can be upgraded to the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS). In the report that was prepared after the Swasthya Sewa Utsav concluded, it is seen that most of the government health institutions have scored B grade or C grade on parameters like human resources, service quality, diagnosis, availability of medical equipment, and accountability. Only 50% of health institutions scored A grade on average.

According to the report, no health institution has scored A grade in human resources. Around 62% of district hospitals have scored A grade for providing quality service while 24% scored B grade. As far as infrastructure is concerned, 52% of district hospitals got A grade while 38% got B grade. For diagnosis, 57% of district hospitals got A grade and 33% got B grade.

In case of sub-divisional hospitals, PHCs and CHCs, their performance on all these parameters is worse than the district hospitals. Sub-divisional hospitals, PHCs and CHCs are the primary treatment centres for patients in rural areas. When they lag in infrastructure, medicine supply, medical equipment and staff, people, especially in rural areas, are deprived of basic health facilities and benefits. To avail these basic health facilities, they have to go to the medical colleges. Consequently, there is an extra burden of patients on the medical colleges.

Sources said, “When patients do not get quality medical care in sub-divisional hospitals, PHCs and CHCs, it erodes their trust and confidence in government health institutions. So for even minor ailments, they prefer to go to medical colleges. People who live in and around Guwahati come to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). So every day, GMCH gets 3,000-4,000 outpatients on average who come from various districts which have district hospitals and maybe even medical colleges. Because of this huge rush of outpatients, there is a chaotic situation in GMCH, especially during OPD hours, and doctors and other medical staff of GMCH cannot give ample time and attention to each patient.”

Interestingly, the performance of all government health institutions is dismal in the human resource parameter because none have got A grade in this parameter. Among the district hospitals, 48% got B grade in the human resource parameter while 52% got C grade. Around 81% CHCs got C grade and 73% PHCs got C grade in this parameter.

This indicates that there is a shortage of medical staff in health institutions at the grassroots level. For the government, it will not suffice to just launch health programmes and build health institutions. It will have to take steps to ensure that these institutions have adequate medical staff and medicines, and proper medical equipment for better diagnosis so that people can avail quality healthcare.

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