Medical equipment and facilities including stretchers, wheelchairs, sterilises, oxygen tents, labour room and mini laboratories are lacking at numerous Basic Health Units (BHUs) monitored in May. FAFEN governance monitors who visited 132 BHUs in 85 districts reported that 83 percent did not have syringe cutters, another 76 percent lacked mini laboratories; 55 percent had no wheelchairs and 39 percent were without stretchers.
Similarly, there were no oxygen tents at 32 percent of the health units while 21 percent had no sterilizers. Moreover, the monitors found that 27 percent units did not have at least two maternity beds and 29 percent lacked labour rooms but 87 percent had delivery kits available.
95 percent BHUs had female staff to attend female patients while an identical percentage had staff to offer basic vaccination facilities (EPI programme). Moreover, 85 percent health facilities offered advisory services to breastfeeding mothers. In contrast, 49 percent BHUs did not have trained staff to treat TB patients and 39 percent had no personnel to run the Control of Diarrheal Disease (CDD) programme. In addition, 33 percent BHUs were without staff to run the Malaria Control Programme (MCP).
As for occupancy rates of various staff positions, 81 percent of the total sanctioned slots of medical officers were filled with 92 percent posts of male technicians and 88 percent those of female technicians. Similarly, the occupancy rate for positions of birth attendants was 86 percent, followed by sanitary workers (94 percent), gardeners (97 percent) and peons/watchmen (100 percent).
The monitoring showed that 88 percent of the BHUs were linked by roads, 79 percent were housed in proper buildings and 85 percent had boundary walls. Moreover, 92 percent of the health units were clean, 70 percent had arrangements for clean drinking water and about 72 percent had residential facilities for doctors and other staff.
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