Rural Agra: crying for medical facilities

• 15 blocks, 56 PHC, 360 beds, 2413497 population!
• 43098 person per PHC
• 6704 people per bed

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Rural Agra is neglected for high-quality health services besides administration's claim of providing better medical facilities in the district areas. The increasing number of patients have been a major problem for the health department. Medical practitioners and new medical graduates are quite unwilling to be deputed in rural areas. If they are trasferred from cities to remote areas they go from pillar to post to get it be cancelled. This has shattered the health system of the district. Agra district comprises 15 blocks having total population of 24,13,497, while the population of the entire district is 42,13,497. These 15 blocks covers major rural areas of the district, faces lack of medical services. According to the health department, there should be one Primary Health Centre (PHC) on 40,000 population informed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hari Ram. There are 56 PHCs in 15 blocks of Agra along with 6 Allopathic Hospital/Dispensary. Calculating the total population of rural areas with total number of PHCs we get ratio of 43,098 persons per PHC. There are staff of 55 medical employees deputed at one PHC including doctors, nurses, pharmacist, sweepers, ANMs and others, added CMO. There are 360 beds in all PHCs in the entire rural Agra which shows the ratio of 6704 people on one bed. What would the health department do if any natural or man made calamity grip the district? Dr. Hari Ram said that we have send reports for establishing new health centres in many areas. As per the health department instructions there should be one New PHC (NPHC) on population of 80,000 and a Community Health Centre (CHC) on population more than 1 lakh. He further said that health department will establish some CHCs in those blocks whose population is more than a lakh.