Medical infrastructure in Tinsukia tea garden hospitals undergoes change

TINSUKIA: After the State Government along with tea garden management and other stakeholders, including ABITA, initiated a slew of development measures in the tea sector and for well-being of the tea tribe community, the garden hospitals improved holistically with the Assam Plantation Labour Rules, 1956 addressing core issues of plantation workers.

With the garden scenario changing over the years, the existing plantation rules warranted some modifications to cope up with emerging issues. This age-old plantation rules needed to be amended to suit growing health-related conflicting issues which affected congenial atmosphere in garden hospitals even as NHM's PPP modules provided some fillip to just 15 per cent of the tea garden hospitals across 11 tea growing districts in the State.

The Assam Plantation Labour Rules, 1956 in Chapter III Rule 36(5) formulated that each garden hospital shall be under 'a' whole time qualified medical practitioner assisted by trained auxiliary personnel whose services should be readily available during all hours while Rule 36 (6) mandated that there shall be one qualified doctor along with midwife and pharmacist per every 1,750 workers. A senior garden doctor pointed out that the number of persons, which included workers and their families, ex-tea gardens and out gardens living within the periphery of the gardens and general people of neighbouring areas falling within the ambit of a garden hospital, had amplified to three times during the past 50 years that created unmanageable situation in garden hospitals.

On the condition of anonymity, he said the fateful incident of Dr Deben Dutta in Jorhat was a glaring example of unrest in garden hospital. He regretted that no association ever analyzed the root cause of the incident. Harassment and blame game to garden doctors have increased many folds leaving the services very risky and stressful. The senior doctor asserted, "The APL Rules failed to attract the new generation of doctors who usually do not wish to forgo family obligations despite being offered high salary packages. Thus the tea companies have to depend on retired medical practitioners," he said. Inspirational schemes like promotion should be incorporated in the Rules to encourage entry of new doctors in tea sector, he opined.

The tea community is considered as one of the marginalized and socially excluded groups in Assam and their basic healthcare facilities have remained unaddressed. The State Government through National Health Mission (NHM) launched Public Private Partnership (PPP) in 2007-2008 to focus on maternal and child healthcare, besides other logistic issues. Though this scheme augmented and facilitated garden hospitals towards better healthcare facilities, the effectiveness of the Wage Compensation Scheme (WCS) in terms of cash benefit of Rs 12,000 launched by the State Government for pregnant women to take care on nutritional aspect of herself and the unborn baby appears to be in shady doldrums. According to a source, the funds deposited in bank against the beneficiary in four installments during the period of pregnancy and after were allegedly withdrawn by family members or middlemen and being utilized for obscure purposes.

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