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As India recovers from the deadly second wave of COVID-19, doctors and other health workers are bracing for a third wave. State governments, too, are putting mechanisms in place to make sure there is no shortage of medical supplies.
However, modern infrastructure and necessary medical staffers are still not visible at the Community Healthcare Centre (CHC) in Rajpur, a rural area in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh. This is the only hospital for more than 25 villages in the district, which have a population of approximately 40,000. The infrastructure of the CHC is on the verge of collapse. I visited the hospital on 22 June to see it for myself.
Recently, a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) revealed that rural districts accounted for 52 percent of all COVID deaths and 53 percent of all new cases registered in India in May. The report further stated that community health centres in rural India need 76 percent more doctors, 56 percent more radiographers, and 35 percent more lab technicians.
The Rajpur CHC corroborates this data. This facility still doesn't have nurses and ward boys who can attend to patients. The centre has two-three doctors in the block headquarters for all villages. The X-ray department is closed as there is no technician and no basic equipment. The dressing room can give anyone sleepless nights and the female ward has been turned into an observation room for COVID-19 vaccinated people.
The only ambulance, which was allocated to this hospital, has been taken away and deployed at Civil Hospital Paonta Sahib, a nearby city, due to the ongoing pandemic. This forces rural patients from this area to travel longer distances for specialized or emergency care.
A doctor, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity, said that the whole building was on the verge of collapse and needed to be renovated as soon as possible.
This ill-equipped hospital has been designated as a COVID-19 vaccination centre and many people are showing up to take the jab. However, the hospital authorities have failed to ensure social distancing because there is no staff to control crowds.
More so, the hospital can only perform Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), which itself has accuracy problems reported in the past. A medical officer in charge, along with a lab technician, performs the RAT. Hardly 8-10 people come here to get tested.
Another local mentioned that patients are forced to go to PGI Chandigarh, which is very far from Sirmaur. “Forget about proper treatment. Even the building is in bad shape and people are afraid to enter,” he added.
When I called the block medical officer to enquire about the renovation of the hospital, he said that doctors had reported the physical condition of the hospital several times to the authorities before, but in vain.
When asked about preparedness for the pandemic, he said,
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