BJP's Pradeep Panigrahi lambasts Odisha govt over public healthcare services

Amid reports of diarrhoea playing havoc in Sambalpur due to ‘water contamination’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on the Odisha government pointing out loopholes in public healthcare.

Addressing a presser on Sunday, BJP leader Pradeep Panigrahi said, "The number of patients in Odisha is increasing and the public healthcare services delivery has collapsed. If Odisha’s public healthcare services are world-class as claimed by the government, then why people are turning to private hospitals?”

He asserted that the facts the government has been providing about the healthcare services in private and public facilities are erroneous.

“The Chief Minister himself has proved that good medical facilities are not available at government hospitals. The burning example is that when the CM is indisposed, why he prefers treatment at Medanta Hospital in New Delhi rather than the SCB hospital in Cuttack or the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar?” Panigrahi observed.

The BJP leader also pointed out large-scale vacancies in hospitals and medical colleges.         

However, no response either from the Health Department or the BJD was received in this regard.