JEYPORE: Poor health facilities haunt over 11 lakh population of Koraput district. It’s again the dearth of doctors in various government hospitals, taking a heavy toll on life. The district has 67 hospitals, including PHCs, and 300 sub-health centres in 226 panchayats but absence of doctors and lack of infrastructural facilities dog the entire medical scenario in the region. Sources said the region has 147 sanctioned posts but nearly 70 per cent posts are vacant. Even for their day-to-day needs the patients have to avail of medical facilities either from the district hospital at Koraput or travel to neighbouring Visakhapatnam. These 70 per cent posts, in rural areas, have been lying vacant for years together and the Government is yet to take up the matter seriously. Against the requirement of 1,500 health service providers, including nurses and pharmacists, only about 450 persons manage the show in the district. This despite the fact that demands for improved medical services have been raised in the past by tribal leaders, NGOs and public representatives of the region. “We have been demanding before the State as well as the Centre for a medical college in Jeypore to get rid of the travel problems but it is yet to be considered,” said Jeypore MLA Rabi Narayan Nanda. On the other hand, the district medical office has also been urging the Government every month to send doctors to tackle the crisis but to no avail.
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