CHOs continue to wait for government response on resolution of demands

Following protests in April and May and an assurance of a meeting with the Health Minister by concerned officials, Community Health Officers (CHOs) wait for the same continues till date.

Stopping work, the CHOs had launched a Statewide protest on April 24 that continued for around 40 days. Since their protest affected the delivery of healthcare services in villages across the State, the Health Department officials agreed to schedule a meeting of CHOs with Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav.

“We trusted the government and withdrew our protest. However, it has been nearly a month now, and there is no word about the meeting with the Minister or about the resolution of the pending demands,” said B. Sandeep, secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Midlevel Health Provider/Community Health Officers’ Association.

He said that the financial burden on many CHOs, who work in Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs, also called Village Health Clinics (VHC), has been increasing by the day. Launched in 2018 under the National Health Mission programme by the Centre, a VHC serves a rural population of around 3,000 to 5,000. While there are more than 10,000 VHCs in the State, a few of them were in different stages of construction, for which CHOs had to spend from their own pockets.

“We spent from our pockets to ensure that the VHCs were in accordance to the National Quality Assurance Standards. In 700-800 centres, the CHOs had to spend ₹30,000-₹40,000 for the purpose. The government is yet to reimburse the amount to CHOs in the State, totalling to ₹1.5 crore,” Mr. Sandeep said.

The CHOs receive ₹25,000 towards salary and ₹15,000 as incentives. However, the incentives have been pending for the past six months, he said, adding that salaries during the protest period are also yet to be released. They are also waiting for the government to remove the Face Recognition System, which requires them to punch out from the office at 8 p.m..

“Our duty hours end by 4 p.m., but there is a false perception among government officials that we are not doing enough work. Hence, the 8 p.m. FRS exists. CHOs, mostly women, have expressed concern about the 8 p.m. punch out from the clinic, usually located on the outskirts of the village,” said a female CHO, on the condition of anonymity.

Mr. Sandeep said that they would be able to express their concerns only if the government agreed for a meeting. The CHOs added that when they went to meet the Minister and other health officials, they were told that the latter were busy with the ‘Yogandhra’ programme. “Now that it is over, we urge the Minister to look at our problems and allow us to present our case,” said Mr. Sandeep.