Bhubaneswar: The ruling party found itself cornered in the Odisha Assembly today after its own MLAs raised concerns over operating healthcare services in the State through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
BJD's Athagarh MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain, during the Question Hour on the third day of the Budget Session of Odisha Assembly today, targeted Health Minister Pratap Jena questioning if healthcare is working on Public–Private Partnership or Pratap-Private Partnership mode.
"People are alleging that PPP mode stands for Pratap-Private Partnership mode," said Swain.
Similarly, BJD's Brahamagiri MLA Sanjay Das Burma said, "There is a shortage of doctors in the hospitals despite adequate infrastructure facilities. The patient services are very poor."
As per reports, medical equipments, including CT scan machines and MRI machines are lying defunct at many government hospitals in State. Many of them are running without adequate doctors. Similarly, private hospitals are looting people instead of providing adequate healthcare facilities.
Later, the Opposition jumped on the bandwagon and criticised the State government.
"All equipments are present in the operation theatre of Bolangir Medical College and Hospital but they are not used. Are these things deliberately being done to discourage admissions in the Medical College in the coming academic session?" said Leader of Opposition, Narasingha Mishra.
In reply to the allegations, the Health Minister said that steps are underway to provide CT scan and free health check-up facilities at Angul, Balasore, Bolangir, Mayurbhanj, Puri, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Koraput and Capital hospitals.
He further informed that the government has taken steps to provide free MRI scan facilities at Angul, Balasore, Puri and Mayurbhanj hospitals through PPP mode.
However, the MRI and CT scan machines at Angul district headquarters hospital is still not functional, informed sources. Patients at Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College & Hospital in Baripada are also not able to avail free MRI scan under the Nidan Scheme of the State government, added sources.
Not only in Angul and Baripada, similar situation is being observed in most of the hospitals across Odisha.
"The facilities under PPP mode of the State government like MRI, CT scan and dialysis are still not available," said an Angul resident.
"There is a need of MRI scan facility for the patients but it is not available here. People are going outside in case of emergency," said a patient's relative in Baripada.
"Presently, the construction of hospital building is underway. So where can we install the machines now?" said Mayurbhanj CDMO Deepak Kumar Dasmohapatra.