HYDERABAD: While the state government is planning to establish more number of basti dawakhanas in Hyderabad, the ones that are in place are facing a severe shortage of staff owing to the third wave of the pandemic.
Sources said all the basti clinics have at least 40% shortage of staff. Each basti dawakhana is supposed to have a doctor, ASHA workers and an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM). However, several of them are run by nurses who provide consultations, prescribe general medicines and refer patients to other hospitals. This scenario is prevalent in Old City areas of Malakpet, Puranapul, Lal Darwaza, Panjeshan, Darulshifa, Dabeerpura and Ramnasthpura where the basti clinics are woefully facing staff crunch.
Officials confirmed that the basti clinics were indeed facing staff crunch for a long time.
A total of 256 basti dawakhanas are currently under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits with an additional 288 of them coming up by June this year.
Health workers said the basti clinics have been facing shortage of staff even before Covid-19 struck. The health department was supposed to fill the sanctioned strength of staff across all the clinics within the city.
“There is a need to fill around 521 support staff who need to be sanctioned across the clinics within GHMC limits alone. We also need staff to be on standby to ensure that the medical services are not interrupted when employees are affected by Covid-19,” a senior health official said.
A considerable number of people are now forced to avail treatment at private clinics due to lack of doctors or nurses present at the basti clinics.
