The sorry state of healthcare services in Odisha was exposed again on Tuesday when many female patients were left to sleep on the floor of Rajkanika Community Health Centre (CHC) in Kendrapara district post sterilisation.
As per reports, at least 29 women were brought to Rajkanika CHC for tubectomy on Tuesday. However, after the surgery, they were left to sleep on the floor of the hospital because of the unavailability of beds in the CHC.
The incident brought sharp criticism from all quarters including the relatives of the patients and the ASHA workers who had brought them for surgery.
Venting her anger, an ASHA worker Kanchanlata Mallik said, “As per our guidelines, the patients would visit the hospital. They will be administered the required injection, then they will be operated upon and return home. As the CHC did not have bed, the patients were forced to sleep on the floor.”
Asked about the post-operation treatment, In-Charge of the CHC Badal Kumar Mohanty said, “There is a construction going on in the hospital. So there is a shortage of beds. They (Family planning patients) should not have slept on the floor. But we do not have enough bed. Once the construction gets over patients will be shifted to that building.”
Voluntary surgical contraception (VSC) is a permanent family planning method, which involves female sterilisation or male sterilisation. In women, the process is called fallopian tube ligation or tubal ligation, and involves mechanically blocking the fallopian tubes by cutting them to prevent the sperm from reaching the egg.