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ShareThe Maharashtra Rural Health Mission is a non-starter, with MBBS doctors from cities and towns refusing to go to rural areas. As a result, the government is forced to recruit 2,000 ayurvedic and unani practitioners to participate in the mission, which is actually an allopathic-based health scheme.
"Yes, that is an issue. But we do not have enough doctors to cater to areas like Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and other tribal areas," said Madhukar S Chaudhari, director of the mission. He said that Unani doctors will primarily visit Muslim dominated areas.
It has already taken the state about two years to execute the Centre's ambitious national rural health mission announced in April, 2005, that promises affordable healthcare to every household.
Last week, the central government sanctioned an amount of Rs671 crore for the mission. Though the state is set to receive the money within a week's time, a dearth of doctors, among other things, seems to have already plagued the mission.
Owing to the desperate situation, the mission has recruited 2,000 alternative health doctors to treat people in rural areas, irrespective of the fact that they are not trained in administration of allopathic drugs. Promises of paying Rs20,000-25,000 to treat patients at the rural areas for only three times a week has failed to woo MBBS doctors.
"Private doctors simply refuse to go to the interiors even after being offered such amounts," said Prakash Doke, director health services. Even if there are MBBS doctors, the absence of specialists like anaesthetists and paediatricians can impair the healthcare mission, he said.
Plans have also been chalked out to strengthen primary or community health centres that are slated to be open for all 24 hours.
The renovation work of 10,535 sub-centres under the health mission began recently. Each centre will be given an untied fund of Rs10,000 to take care of basic infrastructure and maintenance. Interestingly, nurses in the sub-centres and the panchayat will have the authority to spend the amount without much paper work.
The mission also thought of luring villagers into the scheme by rewarding them with money. Female health activists from each village called Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) are being trained to identify ailments and rush people to hospital. For every pregnant woman guided to hospital by an ASHA member, the latter will get Rs200. For every child taken to the immunisation booth, they will be given Rs25. "Monetary benefit will encourage more people to drive people towards healthcare centres," said Chaudhari.
The health mission might take another five to six months to be up and running. "Work has just begun. We can hope for some results by the beginning of next year," he said.
Some of the ambitious schemes under the mission are:
- Rural hospitals will be given Rs1 lakh per annum for maintenance and upgradation. Local panchayats and medical officers can decide on the requirements and spend the money.
- Primary healthcare centres (PHCs) will be given Rs50,000 as annual maintenance.
- Rogi Kalyan Samitis under the PHC will be given Rs 1 lakh per annum for the purchase of emergency medicines, arranging and paying for vehicles.
