Patients shun Bilhaur community health centre

BILHAUR: The 30-bed Bilhaur community health centre (CHC) is facing a unique problem. It has nine specialists, a pathology lab, an X-ray machine and other medical facilities. What it lacks is patients.
Twenty-nine out of 30 beds were lying vacant when Times News Network visited the centre on Thursday.
The centre has a pediatrician, a gynaecologist, an orthopaedic surgeon, a dentist, a skin expert, an ophthalmologist and others.But they hardly get any chance to treat patients as most of the villagers prefer to visit a primary health centre (PHC) in the market area.
The Bilhaur CHC has all the medical facilities which most of the other health centres lack but they have been lying unused as patients rarely visit the centre. Dr RS Pratihar of the CHC said that they offered round-the-clock emergency service to patients. “Power rostering does pose problems to us but we ensure that it does not affect our functioning,� he said.
Meanwhile, principal secretary, medical health and family welfare, Sujit Banerjee says that Mohanlalganj PHC, which has been upgraded to CHC, has 12 specialists. It also has modern operation theatres, dental units, an X-ray equipment, suction machines, Boyl’s trolley (a unique equipment to ensure safe surgery), an ambulance, etc. An overhead tank and a generator ensure round-the-clock water and electricity supply to the CHC, he adds. (According to our reporter the OT is there but it does not function due to non-availability of power despite the generator. As for ambulance, that too is not available most of the times).