Shillong:
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC)-Shella area has written to the District Medical & Health Officer (DMHO), East Khasi Hills district with an appeal to provide medicines in Ichamati CHC and Shella PHC for treatment of Typhoid fever.
The organisation also called upon the DMHO to conduct a necessary enquiry into the causes of high fever (which may be cases of Typhoid fever) amongst the residents of Shella village and its adjoining areas.
HYC urged the DMHO to take serious note of the non-availability of important life-saving medicines in Shella PHC and Ichamati CHC, under Sohra Civil Sub-Division.
The organisation narrated an incident where a young patient, with a high fever, visited Shella PHC on April 25 during investigation it is found that he had Typhoid fever but it was found that the PHC cannot treat him there due to the non-availability of medicines and was referred to Ichamati CHC which is around 13-15 km away.
However, on reaching Ichamati CHC, he was informed that the necessary medicines are also not available in the CHC at present and hence he was further referred to Sohra CHC, which is around 45 km from Shella village.
“This is totally unacceptable as the said Ichamati CHC, being the First Referral Unit (FRU) from the adjoining PHCs, which cater to a population of thousands of villagers, does not even have stock of life-saving medicines to treat a disease like Typhoid fever and this has put the life of that particular patient and others who are suffering from such type of disease at a great risk, which may even lead to a loss of precious lives,” the organisation said.
It requested the DMHO to direct doctors to conduct an enquiry/tests of the patients having fever in the village to find out the causes, to conduct an awareness program in the village regarding the symptoms, causes, treatment, and prevention of the disease and any other measures necessary as per protocols to check the spread of the disease and prevent any major outbreak which may lead to loss of precious lives.