PHC in HD Kote along Kerala border has no doctor

MYSURU: Amid a surge in Covid cases in neighbouring Kerala, the demand for appointment of a permanent doctor for DB Kuppe primary health centre in HD Kote taluk in Mysuru district, which is located close to Karnataka - Kerala border check post, has got louder.

As there is no doctor at the PHC, which is surrounded by tribal settlements, ensuring the medical services and ramping up vaccination drives in border villages is affected. The demand for appointment of a doctor has fallen on deaf ears all these days.

The government was handed over the PHC to a local NGO under public private partnership of Arogya Bandhu scheme.

When doctors hesitate to work in distant remote and rural areas, the government has introduced this scheme in 2011-12 to ensure medical services to such areas by having an understanding with local NGOs and charitable trusts. Twenty PHCs in nine districts including the one at DB Kuppe have been handed over to NGOs.

Apart from this, diagnostic and dialysis services have also been outsourced under PPP arrangements. CT scan services in 14 district hospitals and MRI services in five are provided this way.

As per the scheme, the state government must pay the expenses of running the PHCs, including building maintenance and staff salary and also renew the agreement every year.

The agreement terms ended three months ago, and the government has not paid the local NGO running the PHC in DB Kuppe. The PHC was running without a doctor and other staff for the last three months.

People who depended on the PHC are now forced to travel to the Anatharasanthe PHC, nearly 25km away by passing through Nagarhole forest areas, Thirupathi, former DB Kuppe GP president told TOI.

As Covid cases were also increasing in Kerala, people in the border areas are worried about spread of the virus, he said. The lack of staff at DB Kuppe is also affecting the vaccination drive and other services. People have urged the district administration to appoint a doctor to the pHC soon.

District health officer Dr TH Prasad said told TOI that the state government has appointed four staff including a doctor to the DB Kuppe PHC on temporary basis. As the government has sufficient staff, it may discontinue the services of the NGO, he said.