Shortage of staff and doctor hit the rural villages under Namdong PHC

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 11, 2021

The Primary Health Centre at Namdong villages does not have sufficient staff and doctors. The PHC is the only health care centre in the surrounding 35 villages and its located in Assam Meghalaya border of West Jaintia Hills and West Karbi Anglong District. As many as 31,000 people benefit from the PHC, but the shortage of manpower in the PHC has badly hit the villagers.

The number of staff is very negligible compared to the number of beneficiaries that the PHC serves. The PHC currently has one MBBS doctor and two staff nurses. There are several vacant posts which include one doctor, three staff nurses and others.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprises of the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People’s (FKJGP)- Jaintia zone, Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) Namdong Unit, villages leaders and local MDC Dawan Lyngdoh met the doctor incharge Namdong PHC and hold a meeting on Thursday.

According to JAC leaders, the doctor incharge apprise that he could not manage to run the PHC and provide proper health services. By attending the meeting on behalf of the PHC, the patients suffered as there is no doctor to attend to them.

The JAC also informed that the health department has failed to fill up the vacancy post of three staff nurses in the PHC.

The JAC said that the health department should take up the matter seriously and solve the problem of staff shortage and appoint a doctor in the health centre.