Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 06 August 2024
The Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Campbell Bay is the most important health institution for the people residing in Great Nicobar and Little Nicobar Islands, serving the entire population of these islands.
For over two years, the PHC at Campbell Bay has been providing only tea for breakfast and rice and dal for lunch and dinner to in-patients undergoing treatment.
Nicobar Times reported this issue in June 2022 and again in August 2022. However, the management of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), operating from comfortable air-conditioned offices in Port Blair and enjoying modern luxuries funded by taxpayers’ money, did not consider it important to supply a nutritious and balanced diet, including vegetables, meat, and eggs, to the patients.
The absence of vegetables, meat, and eggs is perplexing. No vendor in Great Nicobar wants to supply these essential items to PHC Campbell Bay because the Directorate has not cleared bills that have been pending for more than two years. Vendors fear that their bills will remain unpaid by the DHS, leading them to avoid participating in bids and tenders.
Senior DHS authorities are well aware of this issue but have deliberately chosen not to address it.
The compassionate healthcare staff, including Dr. Juliet James, Medical Officer In-Charge of PHC Campbell Bay; Dr. Irene, Medical Officer; and Ms. Saira Banu, Nursing Officer, regularly contribute eggs for the consumption of TB patients admitted for treatment. They also occasionally provide eggs, chicken, and fish for other patients out of their own pockets.
The question remains: Would the Director be willing to feed IAS and DANICS officers only rice and dal if they were ever admitted for treatment at any health facility in the Andamans?