A hue and cry by the NGOs of Garo Hills calling attention to the pathetic condition of the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and health sub-centres further into the villages is a timely reminder that health services in the State are at an all time low. Despite the investments in human resource and infrastructure over the decades, health services particularly in the periphery of Meghalaya continues to be in a shambles. There are complaints galore about the absence of a doctor in the PHCs and sub-centres to attend to emergencies. This is not surprising considering that most government doctors attend to their patients only on market days and spend the rest of the week in the district headquarters. The fact of the matter is that doctors no longer respect the Hippocratic oath. Medicine is no longer a noble profession where doctors exhibit a sense of caring and concern. They treat their practice as a mechanical duty and their patients as an intrusion into their schedule. The number of government doctors with private clinics is quite high in Meghalaya. Most of them spend more time there where they can charge their patients and earn a quick buck.
Supervision and surprise checks in the government health sector are unheard of. The people of Garobadha have approached the Health Minister himself and asked that certain action be taken against the doctor who was absent from duty and the driver of an ambulance who was also not available on call during an emergency. Many more such vigilant citizens’ groups ought to approach the Health Minister to demand better services from the Health Department. There is also the flip side about PHCs and Sub-Centres being poorly equipped. This results in doctors recommending patients to the Community Health Centres (CHCs), the Shillong Civil Hospital or Ganesh Das Hospital in case of delivery. Many women from interior villages have delivered inside vehicles while on the way to Shillong. Quite a few have died because of complicated deliveries. Meghalaya still has very poor indices in terms of maternal and child health. The maternal and infant mortality rates are higher than the national average. Will the Health Minister take a series of actions to beef up the Health scenario of the State? Let’s not also forget that the Chief Minister of this state is himself a medical doctor! He should not be presiding over such a pathetic health care delivery system!