Getting Treated: Do We Have Health Rights?
I am sick today. I have a fever and my throat hurts. My eyes feel red and teary and I would like nothing more than to stay in bed and recover. This is the second time this month that my body has broken out to a fever. Ideally I should consult a doctor, have myself examined and take required medications. But when I enter the Public Health Centre- I am lost. Where do I go? Who do I meet? Where can I get treated? Will anyone help me?
As per govt population norms for establishing health care facilities for rural population, there is 1 PHC established per 30,000 persons in the plains and per 20,000 persons in hilly/tribal areas. On average there is one PHC for every 14–22 villages.
The PHC at Thakurganj is one of the two healthcare providers to rural persons in Kishanganj, Bihar. At a systematic level, the PHC is fundamental to our contributions of making Indian TB free- but equipped are we- in terms of technical and personnel capacity to support patients with TB?
According to the World Bank the expenditure on healthcare in 2018 was 3.54% of the Indian national GDP, with public health expenditure representing only 1.29% of GDP.
Some key challenges with regard to understaffing include:
- Only one person available to test sputum or x-ray and hence a low rate of testing.
- Women employees with young children are unable to work for the entire duration of the day due to childcare duties
- Some wards do not have ASHA workers or community health workers to guide them towards quality health care.
The PHC suffers from multiple equipment issues including: regular malfunctioning of the x-ray machine, low availability of critical equipment, and limited replacement of materials once used.
For the patients who do get admitted to the PHC for treatment, they are at constant risk due to poor sanitation and hygiene, as well as lack of adherence to health protocols by staff and other patients:
- Non compliance to COVID 19 protocols- wearing masks, using hand sanitizers and maintaining social distancing
- Lack of toilets or non functional toilets at the PHC for patients and staff
The consequences are that patients don’t get their testing, treatment or government scheme benefits on time. There is a general lack of trust in the system and hence various important health ailments and diseases still penetrate the society.
