FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
PRATIK PARAB
BENAULIM: If you see the COVID medical bulletin which now classifies cases according to Public Health Centres, some centres show an extraordinarily high amount of cases relatively.
But like false positives and false negatives, many of these classifications can be misleading, not to speak of some logistical quirks and nightmares.
And like in Alice said in Alice in Wonderland, it gets “curiouser and curiouser”.
Now think Colva and Benaulim and what would you reckon your nearest Urban or Primary Health Centre would be? Margao, right? The reality is a tad different. Colva and Benaulim cases fall under the PHC in Cansaulim which is 9 and 13 kilometres respectively.
The Cansaulim Primary Health Centre covers areas of Seraulim, Betalbatim, Benaulim, Cana-Benaulim, Arrossim, Majorda and Velsao. Areas under Benaulim village share borders with Margao Town areas. As these areas are in the tourism belt the population too is really high.
For Benaulim, Seraulim and Colva villages reaching the Cansaulim Health Centre is a major issue as there is no public transport or frequent buses on this route from Benaulim to Cansaulim.
Due to the constraints, the people have to visit the Margao Urban Health Centre which is geographically the closest but people are puzzled on why they are under a Health Centre that is so far off.
Besides, the PHCs are approached by people for various health certificates and also NOCs from health for a construction licence. For some permissions of commercial activity, the PHC which is designated for specific villages has to be approached for paperwork. And for a tourism-dependent village like Benaulim, all health NOCs and other permissions needed are issued from Cansaulim.
There are very few testing facilities at the PHC in Cansaulim including COVID testing.
The demarcation of areas falling under the Public Health Centres is 20 years old and has seen no review for quite some time now. In times of the worst health crisis in the form of Coronavirus pandemic the need for adding or subtracting areas from certain PHC's has become a need for effective reach into various areas.
The Director of Health, Dr Ruando Desa admitted that the demarcation of these areas was done 20 years ago. When asked whether there was some realigning of the areas under PHC's in view of the worst pandemic the country has seen in decades, said that it has not been done.
The former Sarpanch of Benaulim Village Royla Fernandes said, "In fact, I would like to impress upon the Health Department to improve the facilities of the existing Sub Health Centres in the village. A general practitioner visit at least twice a week and specialist visit once a week as there are lots of people who don't have access to the big hospitals," she said.
She also said that there is a need to make available medicines at sub-centres. The Gram Panchayat Development Plan of Benaulim (GPDP) had proposed to request the Directorate of Health to appoint permanent Auxilary Nurse midwives (ANM) and peons for the sub-health centres, as the existing staff is overburdened.
An ANM is the first contact person between the community and the health services.
When asked about issues in a Sub Health Centre like Benaulim, the Health Director said, "Since Benaulim is a Sub Health Centre there are facilities according to the IBHA pattern," said Dr Desa.
Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao said, "People in the village Panchayat of Colva too are served by the Cansaulim PHC. People have time and again expressed disgust over this and have stopped going to the Health centres," said Alemao, a former Chief Minister of Goa.
"We have proposed for a 14-bedded Health Centre for the Benaulim Constituency in the Provedoria land which will cover villages of Benaulim right up till Carmona, Orlim and surrounding areas," said Alemao.
Clearly the classification of Health Centres in coastal Salcete and Mormugao appear to be at odds not just with geography but practicality.
