The Pioneer 29.09.2010
MCD dispensaries to be phased outParitosh Kimothi | Dehradun
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun operates about eight dispensaries in the town, but these are likely to be phased out because the practical benefit they provide for the public is substantially less than the expenses incurred on operating them.
According to official sources, the utility value of these dispensaries, which have been in existence since the colonial era, has substantially diminished at the present time when the Health Department is in charge of providing facilities for catering to the requirements of the public for general health and medical treatment.
According to Dehradun senior city health officer Dr Gurpal Singh, the technical staff which includes doctors and pharmacists employed in the dispensaries run by the MCD was declared a dying cadre in 1993 by the then State Government. Out of the eight dispensaries run by the MCD, two are allopathic while the rest are either Ayurvedic or Unani.
However, these dispensaries were established during the colonial era which was a time when the Health Department was yet to come into existence, as a result of which they are basically meant to serve the public under circumstances which do not exist any more since the creation of the Health Department.
Presently, the public health and medical treatment facilities provided by the State Health Department are preferred by the public in stead of the MCD dispensaries because even though one has to pay only a mere 50 paise to book an appointment with the medical officer in charge in an MCD run dispensary, such centres lack medical examination facilities like x-ray and other equipment and adequate stock of medicines. Due to the limited stock of medicines, the visiting public is prescribed medicines to be procured from outside the dispensary which is another reason why people prefer to visit Government hospitals like the Doon hospital in stead of the dispensaries operated by MCD.
The functioning of the allopathic dispensaries has been affected negatively by the lack of doctors. Most of the dispensaries are operating from rented premises in addition to which many of these properties are involved in ongoing court cases filed by the building owners which prevents the MCD from undertaking repair work in these structures.
Due to these factors the structural and organisational condition of MCD dispensaries is weak. As the technical staff of MCD dispensaries has already been declared a dying cadre, neither will extensions be accorded to retiring staff nor will appointments be made to replace them. The class IV staff will be taken in to the setup of the MCD for sanitation and other works.
