John Wilbert & Shachi
Port Blair, Jan 10: Patients visiting Health and Wellness Center of Haddo have been facing huge inconvenience due to the unavailability of Medical Prescription Slips. Patients, especially those who are visiting the HWC, Haddo for the first time are straight-away asked to buy a notebook from nearby shops, to be used as prescription slips as the HWC is out of prescription slips.
For old residents, especially those who do not carry sufficient cash, it is impossible to visit shops again to buy a notebook and hence often they return back without treatment, alleged a villager.
“The DHS must make sure that all PHCs, CHCs and HWCs are well stocked with medical prescription slips. For their mistakes patients can’t be sent to private shops to buy notebooks. More than financial loss, such matters result in time loss and huge inconvenience to the public. Imagine an old man visiting the HWC alone, with high fever, how can he go to the market again to buy a notebook?” questioned a villager.
When Andaman Sheekha Daily contacted the in-charge of Haddo Wellness Center, the in-charge said that last week the HWC ran out of prescription slips, following which the matter was communicated to DHS.
However, justifying the move he said that every patient should maintain their own prescription notebook instead of slips because slips get lost easily and then it becomes difficult for Doctors to refer to the treatment history of patients. “Maintaining a prescription notebook helps the doctor to advise better medical treatment for the patients,” the incharge added.
Others argue that if this is true then the Health Department must stop issuing prescription slips in all CHCs, PHCs and HWCs and issue press statements urging every patient to bring their own prescription notebook. The DHS must also inform and educate the public that how a person after road accidents or patients with high fever and other urgent health issues can pre-plan about carrying a prescription notebook with them?
