Only one doctor in most primary health centres -Afshan Yasmeen

-The Hindu

T.N., Maharashtra among better performing States

According to information provided by the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha recently, of the total 25,650 primary health centres (PHCs) in the country, 15,700 (61.2%) function with one doctor each. As many as 1,974 (7.69%) PHCs do not have even a single doctor.

As per to the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) guidelines, each 24/7 PHC should have a minimum of two doctors apart from a desirable third, apart from three nurses, one lab technician and one pharmacist.

While 9,183 (35.8%) of the total number of PHCs do not have a lab technician, 4,744 (18.4%) do not have a pharmacist.

Gujarat worst

Among the big States, where the number of PHCs are more than 600, Gujarat tops the list with 100% of its 1,392 centres having one doctor each.

In Karnataka, 1,973 of the 2,359 PHCs in the State have just one doctor each. Karnataka stands fifth (in terms of PHCs with single doctor) with 83.6%, followed by Kerala with 81.7%.

In terms of percentage, Gujarat is followed by Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram, where PHCs functioning with one doctor each range between 84% and 87%. However, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram have the least number of PHCs.

Among the better performing States are Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, where only 14.4% of 1,362 PHCs and 23.8% of 1814 PHCs, respectively, have one doctor each.

Sylvia Karpagam, public health researcher, said it was unfortunate that over 61% of the total PHCs in the country function with one doctor each.

“The closer health facilities are to people, the more likely they are to access it and the less expensive they will be. Primary health centres are the first point of contact for patients. They are the core of preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare,” she said.

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