UP: Half the number of healthcare centers for double the population! The poor healthcare services in Kushinagar

Kushinagar— An investigation into the provision of healthcare services in Kushinagar district has revealed that as regards government medical facilities, the healthcare system here is in a deplorable state. It is estimated that this is the situation in almost all the districts in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. Whereas the condition of hospitals with private medical facilities that are located in the cities in the district is better. If we compare these with the government medical centers, the condition of government-provided healthcare services ranges from bad to worse. And the condition of government hospitals providing healthcare services in rural areas is even more worse.

On May 5, the Union Ministry for Health released the Rural Health Statistics Report for the year 2020-2021. According to this report, there are 20,778 sub-centers, 2,923 primary health centers (PHCs), and 753 community health centers (CHC)in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the union government's National Health Mission, in rural areas, there should be one sub-center for a population of 5,000, one PHC for a population of 30,000, and one CHC for a population of 1,20,000. If we look at Purvanchal, however, there are very few health centers here in proportion to the population.

According to the 2011 Census of India, Kushinagar district has a population of 3,564,544. Population-wise, there should be 713 sub-centers, 118 PHCs, and 29 CHCs in the district. But Kushinagar has only 358 sub-centers, 53 PHCs, and 14 CHCs.

At the same time, due to the fewer number of health centers in proportion to the population, much additional burden is being placed on the [existing] health centers. For example, an average of 100-150 out-patients daily attend the CHC at Fazilnagar in the Kushinagar district. At the same time, delivery services are provided to 50-100 pregnant women every month at the same CHC. A doctor from the CHC spoke to us on the condition of anonymity and said, "There are private hospitals near the same community health center. Many patients will go there. So then the pressure gets somewhat reduced here. But, considering the numbers of staff and facilities, there are still too many patients."

The demand for better healthcare in the districts of Purvanchal is a long-standing one. Civil society organizations as well as all political parties have also been demanding proper health services. But their demand goes unheeded.

Jitendra Prajapati, a social activist from Mathia, Fazilnagar block, Kushinagar district, says, "The nearest community health center is 3-4km away from our village, but medical services are not available there. Only cases of delivery are seen in the community health center. If you need emergency services, you have to travel 35km to the city of Rabindra Nagar Dhoos. We have raised this demand with the local MLA and other public representatives many times, but as of now no decisive initiative has been taken in this direction."

Fazilnagar MLA Surendra Singh Kushwaha told The Mooknayak, "Compared with before, under the Yogi government, the healthcare system has improved. However, of course, it still needs a lot more improvement, and I have written a letter to Health Minister Brajesh Pathak regarding this. I have demanded that new health centers should be established, and hospitals should be modernized with the installation of new machines."

The leader of the SP [Samajwadi Party] Fazilnagar, Vipin Singh, says that "Even though you can get somewhat acceptable treatment in Medical College Gorakhpur, the condition of the PHC and community health center is very poor. There is absolutely no treatment available in these health centers. For reasonable treatment, people have to go to the private hospitals in Gorakhpur. The demand for a better healthcare system is always there, but the Yogi government isn't paying any attention."

Private nursing homes opened in large numbers

Due to the poor state of [state] medical facilities, a large number of private nursing homes have opened in Kushinagar. But even after spending money, these private nursing homes are not exactly providing better healthcare services. The main reason for this is a lack of specialist doctors. Local resident Anuj Sharma says that due to the lack of decent healthcare facilities in the government hospital, people have to turn to private hospitals. The Yogi state government should make arrangements for community health centers with better healthcare services for the common people.

यहाँ हिन्दी में भी पढ़ें: उत्तर प्रदेश: दुगनी जनसंख्या पर आधे स्वास्थ्य केंद्र, कुशीनगर में स्वास्थ्य सेवा का हाल बेहाल!

[Story Translated By Lotika Singha]