Even after 19 years health services in Uttarakhand are in jeopardy

While the chief minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat is making tall claims of holding a high profile political conclave of the chief ministers of Himalayan states at Mussourie on 28th July, the health sector of Uttarakhand is in such a jeopardy and mess that even after 19 years of the state coming into existence, pregnant women are delivering babies on the way under extreme traumatic and shocking situations and circumstances. The Conclave of the chief ministers of entire Himalayan states of India is being hosted by Uttarakhand government to be addressed by Finance minister Dr Nirmala Sitaraman and the chairman of Niti Ayog including experts of various fields of the hilly region of the country. However, it sounds shocking that even after achieving separate entity as Uttarakhand 19 years ago the health sector in Uttarakhand is in jeopardy with people dying for want of better treatment of critical illnesses and women of distant and interior villages delivering babies on their way to hospital under extreme traumatic conditions due to no connectivity with roads and maternity homes n health centres several kilometres away devoid of basic medical facilities.

Other than this, though there are myriad grievances and problems pertaining to Uttarakhand but the deteriorating conditions in the health sector despite so much of tall claims by the ruling political dispensation of improvisation in health services has literally exposed the system of its open lies.

Just two days ago in a distant village of Pithoragarh, a pregnant woman has to deliver her baby in a dense forest on the way because the community health and maternity centre was 65 kilometres away from her village with no connectivity with the roads.

The former state minister of Uttarakhand and the president of state Congress Kishore Upadhyay has posted two pictures, one of the pregnant women in acute labour pain being ferried on a temporary palanquin to the health centre on foot by four persons which is several kilometres away from the village and another picture of the news about the delivery of the baby on the way in a forest under extreme precarious and critical circumstances. State Congress leader Kishore Upadhyay has tweeted: Kamobesh Madhya Himalayi rajyon ki swasthya sewaon ki sthi ek jaisee hai, vaise to pure desh ki bhayavah sthithi hai, rashtriya rajdhani shetr sahit.
Himalaya Conclave ko swasthya sewaon ke shetr me pratibadhta ke sath gunatmak sudharon ka sankalp lena chahiye.

Though the condition of health services in the entire belt of Himalayan states is similar, including in the entire country, even the national capital region.
The Himalayan Conclave should with full commitment take laudable decisions to bring qualitative improvement in the health services of these states.

The former chief minister Harish Rawat too was quick to criticize the conclave as the conclave of the BJP ruled states and nothing else. However, he fails to realize that even under his and Congress dispensation, little was done for the improvement of the health care sector of Uttarakhand.

In Uttarakhand, the health sector needs revolutionary improvement as there is a tremendous dearth of adequately equipped hospitals and health centres resulting in an increase in mortality rates.

The doctors though paid heavily are not ready to make postings in the interiors and those working in district hospitals are allegedly involved in private practice to mint heavy profits, least worried for the welfare and medical well being of the patients hailing from villages and local townships.

There is a lack of senior doctors and surgeons in districts hospitals and at block health centres the pharmacists serve as doctors.

Recently a good number of doctors have tendered their resignation to go for private practice.

The hospitals are devoid of good quality medical equipment, machines including medicines especially the live-saving drugs. There is a tremendous lack of ICUs and ventilator machines.

The treatment of critical illnesses pertaining to severe cardiac, Kidney, brain, liver, neuro and gynaecology ailments are not up to the mark and the patients are compelled to go to high profile private hospitals against heavy expenditure required in these treatments, not beyond their capacity to pay if they really want to survive.

The government of the day should emphasise more on health sector of the state and ensure the best possible treatment to the patients by making necessary improvements and modifications in the hospitals and health centres of the state than concentrating on opening liquor plants.

The condition of 108 emergency ambulance services too is in jeopardy and lack of adequate maternity centres and subsequent negligence by doctors and other staff has led to miscarriages as well as delivery of babies on the way in dense forests n on roads. Shocking.