The Hindu : Front Page : An unhealthy practice near a Dindigul PHC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 05, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

An unhealthy practice near a Dindigul PHC

K. Raju

Patients buy injection needles from a nearby petty shop

DINDIGUL: What do you usually buy at a petty shop in a remote village? Normally, it is snacks, cool drinks, cigarettes and candies. But patients visiting the Primary Health Centre in Kosavapatti in Sanarpatti union near here buy injection needles (!) from a thatched petty shop in front of it, thanks to a short supply of needles at the PHC.

With no medical shop nearby, this petty shop has been meeting the emergency needs of patients. According to the shopkeeper, on an average 40 needles are sold in a day. Sales volume varies depending on the flow of patients to the PHC, he says. "Doctors and para-medical staff advised us to buy needles from the petty shop. Otherwise, we have to go all the way to Dindigul or Sanarpatti and buy needles from a medical shop there," said a patient.The PHC staff admitted that such surgical items should be sold only in medical shops or authorised shops. But it is of help that the shopkeeper has been selling needles, fulfilling patients' pressing need.

"We are forced to advise patients to buy needles from outside owing to a short supply at the centre," a hospital employee admitted.

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