I, being a doctor, wish to let you know the bitter realities which are being faced by doctors who are working in PRSP in Punjab and PPHI in rest of the provinces. They have to work in conditions that are very difficult. Doctors are not given due respect by staff of DSUs because most of the appointees in DSUs are locals of that area whereas the doctor is usually not a local. Moreover, the residency of a doctor is an important factor. In almost all Basic Health Units (BHU), the doctor’s house is very old. It usually has not been renovated for very long and is devoid of all facilities. In such gruesome conditions, a doctor has to offer their services for the betterment of the people of the area. Moreover, the dispenser, LHV, nutritionist, watchmen and even peon do not pay heed to the doctor’s orders. Being locals, they think that they have to follow the orders of the bureaucratic setup and not the doctor.
Following are some suggestions to ameliorate the general conditions of PRSP and PPHI:
1. Interview of a doctor must be conducted on the day when he visits DSU for appointment by any doctor, not by DSM (District Support Manager).
2. If possible, DSM must be a doctor and not a bureaucrat.
3. Doctor should be given at least a house with functioning facilities, no matter how old it is.
4. The Monitoring Executive should be a doctor.
5. DSM should be instructed to behave with doctors in an amicable manner.
6. There should not be any involvement of feuds in the matters of BHU.
7. All the staff of BHU ought to be ordered to treat doctor nicely as most of the doctors are not locals.
8. The salary of doctor must be given on the 1st of every month.
Many doctors work in far flung areas and are providing a great service to the people of the country. The least that can be done is that they be provided with a helpful administrative setup, amicable staff, a reasonably well-maintained residency and the necessary resources needed to do their job properly.
DR IRFAN SARWAR
Gujra