Koraput, 28th July: In the field of healthcare, neighboring Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam is well-known in Odisha. People from various parts of the state travel there for health checkups. However, a trend involving some private hospitals in Visakhapatnam is now becoming a matter of concern in Koraput and Jeypore regions.
Some doctors and specialists from specific private hospitals in Visakhapatnam are frequently visiting these areas. Reports suggest that behind these visits and their closed-door meetings with certain doctors, the real intent may be to refer patients to Visakhapatnam hospitals under the guise of providing advanced and specialized treatment.
It is notable that nearly 100% of the private hospital business in Visakhapatnam heavily depends on patients from Odisha’s Koraput district. Several prominent private hospitals are said to be operating with the sole purpose of extracting maximum financial gain from Odisha patients. This is often done in collaboration with local clinics, organizations, or through direct referrals.
These hospitals often conduct free health camps or consultations across Koraput and other parts of Odisha, where they offer basic checkups only to later advise patients to visit Visakhapatnam for more “advanced treatment.”
When the patient inflow in Visakhapatnam decreases, such hospitals reportedly collaborate with large local organizations to organize more free camps in Koraput to boost patient referrals. Over time, this has become a normalized practice in the district.
On the other hand, due to the lack of appointed specialists and expert doctors in government hospitals within the district, people remain heavily dependent on Visakhapatnam for treatment. For instance, in Kotpad — a remote area — although a modern hospital was inaugurated over a year and a half ago, the lack of pediatricians, gynecologists, and other essential specialists due to poor government planning has left expectant mothers with no choice but to seek maternal healthcare in neighboring Chhattisgarh.
Additionally, due to poor awareness and lack of proper guidance, many patients end up losing everything financially in Visakhapatnam rather than availing better and more affordable treatment at Bhubaneswar’s AIIMS, or the premier medical colleges in Berhampur, Cuttack, or Burla — which have now become a distant dream for people in this region.
Intellectual circles now suggest that if the government seriously addresses these issues and ensures the appointment of key specialists in major health centers of remote and tribal-dominated districts like Koraput, it could bring a transformational change in the current healthcare crisis plaguing the region.
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