A severe lack of medical staff and specialists at government facilities is observed in Chamoli, a remote border district of Uttarakhand that frequently suffers from natural calamities, requiring local patients to travel long distances for care.

Residents complained of a lack of medical personnel in the district hospital and the community and primary healthcare facilities, forcing patients to drive from Chamoli for four hours for availing basic health facilities. Meanwhile, when landslides block roads, the health services already in place are also disrupted, and patients or victims are transported for miles on palanquins frequently. They claimed that the majority of the patients are disheartened by the time ambulances reach them. 

The health officials accepted that Chamoli′s medical facilities frequently send patients; they claimed improvements were being made, and the district′s medical facilities are being upgraded. According to Dr. R. Rajesh Kumar, head of the National Health Mission in Uttarakhand, the health department has been ordered to fill the vacant medical positions, install the necessary diagnostic equipment, and enhance the infrastructure.

(Times of India, Aug 20, 2022)

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/remote-areas-in-hills-struggle-to-get-basic-health-facilities/articleshowprint/93670665.cms