Underlining the acute shortage of government medical staff, particularly in remote rural areas of the district, Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat P. Shivashankar has said that the lack of healthcare facilities could create a lot of resentment among rural people.
He was addressing Health Department officials from the district at the Government Wenlock Hospital here on Friday during a special programme to mark World Health Day.
Calling for better healthcare facilities in the naxalite-affected areas, he stressed the need to show the “human side” of the Government there.
“We need more doctors, nurses and health workers to display the healing touch in these areas,” he said.
He expressed scepticism about fixing targets for doctors under the National Rural Health Mission. Pointing out that as per the current dispensation, doctors were expected to treat a specified minimum number of patients within a given time-frame, he questioned the logic behind such a move.
On the one hand, the Government was undertaking several hygiene and wellness programmes in rural areas, and, on the other hand, pressure was being put on doctors to treat more and more patients, he said.
Despite the growth in the number of primary health centres and government hospitals, more people were opting for private healthcare, he said and called for a greater thrust on quality healthcare within the government set-up.
Cash awards were distributed among doctors, nurses and health workers who had rendered exceptional service. T. Ravindranath from Ujjire was adjudged the best doctor in the district, Ramesh Kawari from Lady Goshen Hospital the best gynaecologist, Jecintha D'Souza of the Government Wenlock Hospital the best anaesthetist, Balakrishna Rao of the Government Wenlock Hospital the best paediatrician, and Helen Mercy of Lady Goshen Hospital the best nurse.
