Delivery of healthcare services to rural pockets in Mysuru hamstrung by personnel shortage

Mysuru: It would appear as though the unpreparedness of the Karnataka health department, which was exposed with fatal consequences earlier this year when the South Interior region of the state battled the deadly Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or monkey fever, has been forgotten as an incident in a distant past. Amid conflicting claims of rise in the number of KFD cases across Karnataka, the large number of vacancies in the Mysuru district health department is a grave concern that is not being treated as one.
The condition is particularly worrisome in the rural pockets of , Sargur, HD Kote and Nanjangud taluks, where there is a crippling shortage of paramedical personnel and specialists – posts that have not been filled for some time. Although the department has appointed medical officers and specialists in other taluks, the shortage of supplementary staff including pharmacists, technicians, auxiliary nursing midwives has hampered efficient delivery of health services across the district. Although the health department in Mysuru has written to the state government seeking funds and other forms of assistance in filling these vacancies, it has not received a response yet.
At the Tagadur Village Hospital in Nanjangud taluk, the posts of gynaecologist, paediatrician and anaesthesiologist are vacant – the lack of these specialists at a government facility is particularly severe on the underprivileged, who cannot afford to visit private institutions. On the other hand, both Sargur and HD Kote taluks, the lack of gynaecologists and paediatricians is a worry. Meanwhile, mother and child healthcare clinics in Nanjangud and KR Nagar are staring at a crunch in specialist doctors.
Mysuru district health officer (DHO) Dr Venkatesh R admitted to the severity of the problem, but assured TOI that efforts were under way to fill the vacancies. “We are putting our best foot forward to ensure our services are not affected. We are deputing staff from other taluks to tide over the crisis in those centres where there is a staff shortage,” the DHO said.
Conceding that deputing personnel from those centres that could afford to lose them temporarily to other in dire need of their services was an ad hoc solution, Dr Venkatesh said, “We will have to continue with this till the government consents to fill these vacancies.”
The DHO said that the department had organised a walk-in interview on Monday to recruit medical officers on a contractual basis at various health centres. “Selected candidates will be issued offer letters on the spot,” said Dr Venkatesh.
The lack of paramedics, he said, had adversely impacted services in HD Kote and Nanjangud taluks. “In Hunsur and Periyapatna taluks, we are facing a shortage of field personnel. Those who were previously appointed have quit citing insufficient remuneration. We have submitted a proposal to hike the pay for supporting staff to the government,” said Dr Venkatesh.
Sources said that lack of specialists at the HD Kote hospital, which can accommodate 100 patients and the 30-bed facility in Sargur were problems that needed to be addressed on priority.
President of the Medical Officers’ Association Dr Ravikumar T, stationed in HD Kote, lamented the worsening situation in his taluk. “The government has to ensure these posts are filled in order to ensure the rural populace receives medical attention,” he added.