Locals ransack PHC protesting suspension order of pharmacist

Kendrapara: Protests broke out at Babara village in Mahakalapada block of Kendrapara district today against the suspension order of pharmacist Chaturbhuja Nayak of Babara Primary Health Centre (PHC). The centre was ransacked by irate locals and tyres were burnt on the roads.

Nayak had become a scapegoat for the absence of proper health care facilities in the PHC including lack of doctors. Director of Health Services Dr Kailash Chandra Dash had directed the Kendrapara Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) on Monday to suspend Nayak for treating patients under a tree.

Earlier, OTV had telecast a report in which Nayak was seen treating patients under the tree in the absence of doctors at the centre. Nayak is physically challenged and the centre is managed by an Ayush doctor while the MBBS doctor post is vacant since long. The primary health centre also lacks basic amenities like beds, fans and toilets.

The suspension decision had elicited sharp criticism from many quarters as the pharmacist was doing his duty of providing emergency medical treatment to patients in the absence of the doctor at the health centre.