Scindia visits AIIMS, flays govt for poor healthcare services
Former union minister and Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday criticised the state government for the poor condition of healthcare services in Madhya Pradesh.
Former union minister and Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday criticised the state government for the poor condition of healthcare services in Madhya Pradesh.
Visiting All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal on Wednesday, Scindia said healthcare facilities in Madhya Pradesh are going from bad to worse, right from AIIMS to primary health care centres (PHC) and community health care centres (CHC).
“There should be 1,900 PHCs in the state, but just 800 are functioning. There is a shortage of more than 60% doctors in the state,” the Congress MP said, adding that out of sanctioned posts for 334 surgeons, 284 are vacant. He also said 70% hospitals do not have doctors.
AIIMS, which started functioning in September 2012, has constantly been in the news for irregularities and inadequate infrastructure. “Unfortunately, the commencement of full-fledged operations of AIIMS has been pending for a long time,” Scindia said.
The Congress MP said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had sanctioned several medical colleges for Madhya Pradesh. “Unfortunately, there has been no progress at all,” he said, adding that Bhopal and rural areas are suffering because of poor healthcare services.
Expressing concern over the situation in Sheopur district where malnutrition has claimed more than 62 lives as per media reports, Scindia said, “I have seen the horrible condition of Sheopur district where a 20 bed Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre had to accommodate 225 kids.”
He said he met union minister women and child development Maneka Gandhi who dispatched a high level central team to probe the malnutrition deaths in Sheopur. “Malnutrition has taken the form of an outbreak. The state government is trying to cover up the burning issue,” he said.
“I have suggested that instead of giving `1200 crores to MP, food packets should be given to children. Every division should have centralised units making food packets,” Scindia said.
Scindia’s visit to the AIIMS Bhopal came less than a fortnight after union was after 11 days of ink-attack on the union health and family welfare minister JP Nadda.