UHWCs & UCHCs: Doctorless health centres in Lucknow leave patients adrift

The UHWC is led by a CHO who is a qualified AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) physician, responsible for providing a wide range of primary health care services. Meanwhile, a UCHC provides comprehensive primary and specialised healthcare services to urban populations. Their roles include offering primary and sometimes inpatient services, managing chronic diseases.

Even as the city’s major hospitals remain crowded, several neighbourhood-level health facilities are functioning without a single doctor. At least eight urban health and wellness centres (UHWCs) and eight urban community health centres (UCHCs) currently have no doctors, leaving allied and healthcare staff to single-handedly manage OPD services and hand out medicines to patients, state health department officials said on Saturday.

Representational image (Sourced)

The UHWC is led by a CHO who is a qualified AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy) physician, responsible for providing a wide range of primary health care services. Meanwhile, a UCHC provides comprehensive primary and specialised healthcare services to urban populations. Their roles include offering primary and sometimes inpatient services, managing chronic diseases.

The district has 108 UHWCs and more than 20 UCHCs. Officials said 16 of these centres have had no doctors for months. In their absence, pharmacists and nurses are attending to patients, providing medicines and advising them to visit larger government hospitals.

Patients continue to shuttle between centres due to the shortage of doctors. “Due to the unavailability of doctors, patients have to go to other centres or larger hospitals for medical care,” an official said.

Chief medical officer (CMO) Dr NB Singh stated that the recruitment process for the vacant posts is scheduled to begin next month to ensure patients can access treatment closer to home.

At the CMO office, 14 doctors are posted, including seven of deputy CMO rank, though only one sanctioned post exists. The office also has seven additional chief medical officers (ACMOs). Except for one anaesthetist deployed at a community health centre, the rest work within the office. Several officials have allegedly not treated patients for a long time, an official said on condition of anonymity.

The state government rules mandate that administrative medical officers must also work at a hospital, but officials from the CMO office are reportedly not visiting field facilities.

Mother and child wings: Several rural MCWs in Lko functioning as OPD only

Multiple mother and child wings built across rural community health centres in Lucknow remain unable to start full services, as a critical shortage of doctors, nurses and technical staff has left the units functioning only as OPDs, officials said. The district has 20 CHCs, but several newly created wings are still not fully operational.

Four doctors were posted about six weeks ago at the Mohanlalganj unit, including a paediatrician, a gynaecologist, an anaesthetist and a medical officer. However, due to limited staff and a lack of essential equipment, the wing has not begun inpatient admissions. Only OPD and immunisation services are functioning, the officials told.

At the Malihabad unit, only an anaesthetist and a pathologist are posted for its 30 beds. The absence of a gynaecologist, an emergency medical officer and staff nurses has restricted the wing to OPD services.

Chief medical officer Dr NB Singh said doctors were posted in these units in December last year, but several wings still do not have the required doctors and staff nurses. The administration has sought additional personnel from the government, and the issue will be addressed soon, he said.

The Kakori and Gosainganj units, each with a 50-bed capacity and built before the COVID-19 period, face similar shortages. Seven doctors were appointed at Kakori and two at Gosainganj in December, yet no pregnant woman has been admitted so far. Without staff nurses and technical personnel, both centres remain limited to OPD services. HTC