Bhubaneswar: A health centre on the Utkal University premises here is suffering from a myriad of problems, including shortage of doctors, health staff and medicines.
Though the health centre has a furnished building with a disabled-friendly ramp, most of the students, teachers and other employees of the university often depend upon Capital Hospital and a few private hospitals for healthcare.
The state government had set up the health centre to provide primary healthcare to students, especially to the 3,000 hostel boarders. However, shortage of doctors and health staff has affected its functioning.
At present, the hospital has only one doctor against a sanctioned strength of four. Besides, the health centre lacks health staff like nurses and dressers, sources said.
It is learnt that the health centre remains closed for several hours a day due to shortage of doctors and health staff.
“One of our hostel boarders was suffering from food poisoning a few days ago. An employee of the health centre advised us to take the girl to a private hospital as there was no lady doctor. We took her to a private hospital by hiring an auto-rickshaw. A few anti-socials had passed lewd comments at us while we were returning to our hostel in the evening,” said Saranjita Choubey, a boarder of ladies hostel no. 5.
According to sources, the university health centre does not have medicines for common diseases like fever. “I had some digestion disorders a few days ago. I could not get any medicine from the health centre. My condition deteriorated further after I was administered an injection to get quick relief,” said Shiv Sankar Mohanty, an MBA student.
Sources said the university authorities have arranged an ambulance for the health centre, but the vehicle is lying idle in the absence of a driver. “The hospital is yet to have a laboratory for conducting blood tests. The state government and the university authorities have failed to provide healthcare to at least 4,000 people residing in the campus,” said a source.
Dusmanta Kumar Panigrahi, the lone doctor at the health centre, claimed that he has raised all these issues with the university authorities. “Now, I am treating at least 70 patients in a day,” he claimed.
Vice-Chancellor Soumendra Mohan Patnaik said the university will take immediate steps to resolve all issues pertaining to the health centre. “We will try to arrange doctors, nurses, medicines and an ambulance driver for the hospital within a few days,” he added.