The Pioneer
Maternal mortality rate rings alarm bell in Nuapada
TUESDAY, 07 AUGUST 2012 19:25 AJIT PANDA N NUAPADA
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Mathura Raut (30) of Mahulpadar village
died at Boden CHC in Nuapada on August 2. She was admitted to the hospital by
her parents with complaint of diarrhoea. The doctor acted immediately, but
could not save her life as other complicacies developed.
“She
recovered from diarrhoea but developed breathing problem and died due to
cardiac arrest,” said Dr Soren, who treated her in the hospital adding, “The
cause of cardiac arrest might have been severe anaemia.”
Mathura’s
husband Bhakta is a migrant worker. During her pregnacy, she was very week and
her health worsened after the child birth two months ago. The haemoglobin level
was nine just a few days before the delivery. It is astonishing that the field
staff of health and ICDS department could not notice her weakness in their
regular check up on Village Health and Nutrition Day.
Anandini
Sadangi, a social activist working in Boden, said, “Considering her low
haemoglobin level, Mathura should have been given 200 tablets of iron and folic
acid by the health staff. But only 50 tablets were given to her. There was no
home visit by the service providers during her pregnancy to monitor her
health.”
Padma Dal of
Khaira village in Boden block also suffered the same problem a month ago. She
was severely anaemic and was bed-ridden after a few days of giving birth to her
child at home. Neither the ASHA and Anganwadi worker nor the ANM took step to
admit her in the hospital. Luckily, she was noticed by some volunteers of a
civil society organisation called Ayuskam, who admitted her in to the CHC,
Boden. As she needed blood, she was immediately referred to Khariar CHC for
blood transfusion. But unfortunately, the blood bank in Khariar CHC has gone
defunct owing to the transfer of the doctor. Padma was thus referred to the
district headquarters hospital for treatment. Blood was not available even
there. The volunteers had to arrange the blood from the donors. She got well
after transfusion of two units of blood.
Bina Nial,
wife of Rupsing of Amhera village under Boden PHC, died in the district
headquarters hospital last month due to the same problem during the pregnancy
and post natal period. Her haemoglobin level was below 3.5 when she was
admitted to the hospital at Nuapada. She was provided blood after she was
admitted but could not survive. The child also died.
There are
several other cases of such nature in the block. In Margaon village of this
block, there are three cases of still born babies. In Patdarha village of
Bhainsadani gram panchayat, two women died due to post delivery bleeding. The
maternity mortality rate (MMR) of this block is 385, much higher than the State
figure of 250. About 50 per cent of the total pregnant women are underweight
and anaemic in this block.
Slackness of
the Government in appointment of doctors is adding to the woe. Out of four
posts of doctors in Boden CHC, two are laying vacant. CHC medical officer A
Rout was transferred a month back but he has not handed over the charge to
anyone.
“Dr Rout was
appointed at Boden two years ago. But he never did his duty properly. He was
always staying out of station and the hospital was being managed by his
juniors,” alleged Faruk Bhai, a Congress leader of Boden.
More than
30,000 people of 10 gram panchayats of Boden block depend on Boden CHC for
their health needs but the administration has not taken adequate step for the
proper management of the CHC. No action was taken against the negligence of
Rout.
The situation
in other CHCs of the district is not better either. The CHC at Khariar, which
is the largest outlet of the district with daily turnout of 500 outdoor
patients and an average 10 institutional deliveries per day, is being managed
by only two doctors. Posts of specialist in gynaecology, medicine and surgery
are lying vacant.
Out of the 46
posts of doctors in Nuapada, 26 are lying vacant. There is also dearth of
health workers and nurses. There are only nine Janani Express to provide
service of transportation for institutional delivery to the pregnant women.
“When more than 45 deliveries take place daily on an average, the availability
of nine vehicles is certainly not sufficient,” said Dr Ajit Panda of Ayuskam.
According to
the district health department sources, out of 653 villages in the district,
446 villages are considered to be malaria prone. Likewise, about 25,000 people
of 214 villages in the district are dependent on unsafe source of drinking
water as the tube wells of their villages are not used for water with excessive
fluoride content.
