Ludhiana: Staff crunch brings OOAT clinic to halt

Due to the situation, centre had to discontinue treatment under the outpatient opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) programme, affecting at least 50 dependent patients

The Urban Community Health Centre in Giaspura, established in 2016 to serve the migrant communities, is grappling with neglect and staff shortages, jeopardising the healthcare services provided to the local population.

Staff crunch at Urban Community Health Centre in Giaspura brings OOAT clinic to halt. (HT)

Due to the situation, centre had to discontinue treatment under the outpatient opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) programme, affecting at least 50 dependent patients. These individuals are now left in limbo, forced to restart their treatment from scratch due to the abrupt halt in services.

With a capacity of 30 beds and 20 sanctioned staff, the healthcare facility now operates with a single staff member – a dental doctor. The infrastructure, set up nearly eight years ago, is now showing visible signs of decay, with equipment rusting due to prolonged disuse.

“The only staff nurse deputed here, went on a maternity leave in late November. Since her absence, it has become difficult to manage the crowd in the outpatient department (OPD) and at the OOAT centre. We were left with no other option but to drop the programme in December 2023,” revealed an ANM staff member who is currently handling duties initially performed by the absent nurse.

Presently, the centre operates with only two doctors – Dr Priya Malhotra, a permanent dentist, and Dr Hari Om Bhatia, a medicine expert on deputation, handling the general OPD. Dr Malhotra expressed the urgent need for additional staff, stating, “We have written dozens of letters to higher authorities to depute staff here, but to no avail. The dental OPD sees 15-20 patients a day, and the general OPD caters to 80-90 patients.”

Civil surgeon Dr Jasbir Aulakh acknowledged the pervasive shortage of manpower across government sectors. He stated, “Recruitment happens at the senior level and is beyond my control. As a civil surgeon, my duty is to oversee the functioning of the staff that is already working.”