COIMBATORE: A group of women gathered in front of the Coimbatore Corporation’s health centre on Raja Street in the city on Wednesday to express resentment over the non-availability of a doctor to vaccinate children.

Holding infants, they assembled in front of the health centre and later on Oppanakara Street to draw the attention of the Corporation authorities to their plight.

The women said they had come to the health centre for having their children vaccinated against diseases such as polio and diphtheria. But, there was no doctor to carry out the immunisation. They complained that the problem of non-availability of doctors at the centre had not been resolved. Poor people dependent on this centre for treatment had been affected for some time because of the shortage of doctors.

Assistant City Health Officer R. Sumathi rushed to the centre and carried out the vaccination for about 100 children. Quoting the staff at the health centre, the protestors said the doctor who had to handle this centre also was on leave.

The sources said there was shortage of doctors and the Corporation was trying to solve this problem.

There were 11 vacancies for the doctors’ posts, out of the total 20 health centres that required a doctor each. The Corporation was doing its best to manage the situation on immunisation days, the sources said.

On an average, 100 children were brought to the centres every Wednesday for immunisation. They were vaccinated against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Hepatitis B and measles, as part of a nation-wide immunisation programme.

Courtesy

The Hindu