Alarming health scenario in Cooch Behar

 

COOCH BEHAR, Oct. 28: Government hospitals and health centres in Cooch Behar are suffering from shortage of doctors, nurses and other health workers. Though the situation is gloomy there is no visible silver line at this moment.

 

Among sanctioned 194 posts of doctors sixty-four are lying vacant at different hospitals and health centres. It is very difficult to run the healthcare facilities with so much vacant posts of doctors. Not only doctors, number of health assistants is also very low in this district. In 351 sanctioned posts of male health assistants 176 are vacant and 12 in 406 female health assistants are also vacant. There are sixty-four clerical staffs only in 111 posts. Health officials admitted that it is hard to run the hospitals and health centres properly with so much vacant posts.

 

Dr Sunil Kumar Shil, chief medical officer of health, Cooch Behar, said that beside doctors and nurses a large number of posts of Group-D personnel too lying vacant for a long. "We are conveying the situation to our higher authorities regularly but nothing happened till now", he said.

 

There was a plan to upgrade twelve block level health centres as ten-bedded hospitals. The infrastructures for four such health centres – Deocharai, Gopalpur, Jamaldaha and Pakihaga – were already improved for introducing the facility. But due to lack of doctors, nurses and other health workers and instruments and accessories the proposed ten-bed facility is yet to be launched in those four centres. The CMOH, Dr Shil hoped that the situation may improve in December but at the same time he admitted that they are receiving no satisfactory response from medical professionals for the posts of doctors on contract basis.

 

Expressing his helplessness Mr Jnanendra Chandra Chanda, sabhadhipati of Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad, who is also the chairman of District Health and Family Welfare Samiti (DHFWS), said they reported the situation regularly to the health department. Even after receiving appointment letters from health department many doctors are not eager to come to north Bengal. As the health department issues the appointment letters they should take an initiative for filling the vacant posts, the sabhadhipati opined.

 

Mr Dipak Sarkar, Cooch Behar (North) MLA and also a member of DHFWS said the health service situation is alarming in Cooch Behar district. He demanded filling up of the vacant posts immediately. He assured that he would raise the issue in the next meeting of the DHFWS so that the health department come up to do something to fill the vacancies to make the health situation better. []

 

"Greater" campaign

 

COOCH BEHAR, Oct. 28: Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party (GCDP) organised cultural programmes at different blocks in Cooch Behar yesterday and today to celebrate the 106-th birth anniversary of legendary Bhawaiya artiste Abbasuddin. During the cultural programmes they also campaigned asking people to get prepared for the ensuing three-tier panchayat elections, GCDP president Mr Ashutosh Barma said. The executive committee of the GCDP will meet soon to decide the proposed fast-unto-death programme, Mr Barma said. []