Bowenpally: Health centre ailing for want of equipment & staff

Bowenpally: It being the only prime urban primary health center (UPHC) at Bowenpally stretch, daily on an average, close to 250 outpatients visit the place for treatment. But they are at once depressed by lack of even basic facilities, and, worryingly, staff. They are thus forced to visit the private hospitals.

The PHC does not have even X-Ray, ECG, ultrasonogram machines. Add to it is crunch of paramedical staff and pharmacist. There are no separate rooms for conducting diagnostics and there is no in-patient facility either. There are only two nurses who are doing multiple jobs that include handling pharmacy and also conducting pathological tests.

The hospital even lacks a proper drinking water dispenser. The health center is congested as here and there cartons are dumped and dust has accumulated due to lack of space. In such conditions, doctors are having to treat patients. There is a dressing and injection room, but it is littered with all sorts of things. "It is very difficult to treat patients without sufficient medical staff and we also require pharmacists and also a lab technician.

We require more two staff and one sanitary worker and at present there are two nurses. Right now we only handle the cases of viral infections, cold, throat infections etc. Vaccinations to children are given," says Dr Leela, medical officer at UPHC, Bowenpally. She further said that they had urged the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) to provide lab equipment and also deploy sufficient medical staff. "We have not yet received any response," she added.

Generally, the timing of the health center is 9 am to 4 pm. "As there is no pharmacist , we have wait to long for medicines. Several times we have complained to the authorities concerned about this issue but no action is taken," said Y Lakshmi, a patient. "As there is no lab equipment in this center and so for tests we are going to private diagnostics centers," bemoaned Sirisha, a patient attender.