PERNEM: Nearly 20 villages within the Pernem constituency are grappling with a severe health facility crisis as the only health centre serving these areas remains inadequately equipped. From Cansarvarnem to Patradevi, villagers are forced to rely on the Cansarvanem Primary Health Centre, which lacks essential facilities due to the negligence of the Health Department.
Allegations have arisen that the health department has turned a blind eye to the concerns of the villagers, failing to provide even the most basic health services. For years, the residents have pleaded with the State government to furnish the health centre with at least the necessary facilities, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Consequently, despite the proximity of a health centre, villagers are compelled to travel to Tuem or Mapusa for medical treatment and basic check-ups.
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With inadequate staff and facilities, the number of patients seeking care at the centre has dwindled to almost zero. The villagers assert that there is no point in visiting this center when unwell since the doctors there promptly refer them to either the Tuem Health Centre or the Mapusa District Hospital due to the lack of essential resources.
“Our requests to the authorities, both oral and written, have been ignored. People avoid coming here because there are no facilities or medicines. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane visited the centre, and since then, a satellite OPD has been set up once a week. The minister promised to provide all necessary facilities, but to date, nothing has changed,” voiced Bhikaji Palyekar, a concerned local.
Sources reveal that the primary health centre lacks even basic equipment for checking blood pressure, sugar levels, and conducting other essential tests. The centre is managed by a lone general physician who attends to both OPD patients and inpatients, working round the clock. Additionally, a radiologist is only available twice a week, leaving patients with no choice but to journey to the Mapusa District Hospital for X-rays on other days.
Despite the Manohar International Airport project, located merely four to five kilometres away, villagers’ hopes for improved healthcare facilities have been dashed.
For 25 years now, villagers have been demanding a resident gynaecologist, but their pleas have been met with a visiting gynaecologist who is present only once a week. The absence of a regular gynaecologist forces women to travel up to 20 to 30 km to the Mapusa District Hospital or Tuem Health Centre for consultation. In these rural areas, not everyone can afford the expenses of taxi fares to reach these distant facilities.
