Patients who come to Baralekha upazila health complex find that it is seriously understaffed. But there is no alternative, because there is not a single government doctor on duty at the union level.
Dr Azim Uddin, the upazila health and family planning officer, when contacted, confirmed that doctors’ posts in Baralekha upazila had not been filled.
Sources said medical equipment worth crores of taka were becoming decrepit from lack of use as posts for medical technicians and health care providers remained vacant.
Nine medical officers and consultants are supposed to cater to the needs of the upazila’s 250,000 people at the Baralekha health complex, official sources said.
But the tiny ratio of care providers to the population is further diminished by the fact that eight of nine physicians’ posts at the health complex have been vacant for the last two months.
Only the family planning officer, one of the nine intended health complex staff, was working.
The family planning officer attends meetings at the upazila and district levels, attends to official business, and conducts training programmes, in addition to performing medical duties.
Until recently, he has had to single-handedly serve the inpatients of the 50-bed Baralekha upazila health complex.
To mitigate the crisis, two union medical officers have been called up and deputed to the upazila health complex.
The health complex is currently staffed by three sub-assistant community medical officers serving outpatients and two medical officers, on deputation, treating inpatients.
The lack of staff at the health complex has translated into decreased medical care.
Hospital sources said caesarean operations (also called c-sections) were regularly offered in the past to poor mothers facing difficult or complicated deliveries.
But the lack of an anesthesiologist or an obstetrician-gynecologist on staff has meant that c-sections are no longer on offer. The costly x-ray machine at the health complex has been idle because there isn’t anyone there to operate it.
Aside from the upazila health complex, medical care is provided at the union level through 10 union health sub-centres.
Ten medical officer posts exist so that one doctor can be assigned to each sub-centre. But only three medical officers are currently on the roster and 7 posts are vacant.
Of the three working medical officers, one is on maternity leave and the other two have been deputed to the upazila health complex. The result is that currently there are no medical officers at any of the union health sub-centres in Baralekha upazila.