‘The Infamous Dr Kafeel’, and other tales from inside UP’s Health System: A two-part video series from Gorakhpur and Bundelkhand, in exclusive partnership with Firstpost
Part Two: Vyavastha Kahaan Hai?, Or Where Are the Facilities?
“There’s no doctor or anybody for that matter, in that hospital. What do we go there for? To stare at the building?” – Shanti, Kamasin village, Banda
“We have to hire a private vehicle in case someone’s very unwell. The ambulance never comes.” – Ramji, Murvan village, Banda
“If you’re due for your delivery, you can’t plan to go so far to the hospital. Ghar hi mein karna padega.” – Poonam, Murvan village, Banda
“The nearest hospital is 30 kms away, in Lalitpur”. – Guddi, Pali village, Lalitpur
In a state still plagued by tuberculosis in 2018, while at the same time being “gifted” special ModiCare packages, irony catches a lethal hue. Healthcare in the hinterland often leads to dire and fatal circumstances, due to a sheer lack, which ranges from facilities and infrastructure to manpower and drugs.
The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) prescribes a three-tiered organisational structure of Community Health Centres (CHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Sub-Centres (SCs) for each district, to be administered by the state governments. UP’s healthcare infrastructure is one of the most inadequate in the country, with a 60% shortfall in CHCs, combined with an above 20% shortfall in SCs and PHCs. Moreover, more than half of the existing SCs lack basic supplies and medical equipment, and often do not even have electricity connections or water storage systems. This is the reality of the scenario, the zameeni hakeekat of the healthcare system that fails to treat or help those who need it the most, and are on paper, entitled to it, free of cost.
Vyavastha Kahaan Hai?, is an examination of this very conundrum – the lack of basics in an age of ambitious medical insurance plans, drafted by the stalwarts of the central government.
This is Part Two of Khabar Lahariya’s special series, Doctor aur Swasthya Seva, an investigation into U.P.’s healthcare system, in partnership with Firstpost. Part One here.
