Koraput: Local MLA Krushana Chandra Sagaria on Saturday sat on an indefinite dharna on the SLN Medical College and Hospital campus in protest against the transfer of doctors and para-medical employees from the facility to the district headquarters hospital.

Since last week, the state government transferred as many as 14 doctors, 14 staff nurses and 16 pharmacists to the Jeypore sub-divisional hospital, which had got the district headquarters hospital status in August 2017. The development came after the Koraput district headquarters hospital had been attached to the SLN.

"Health care facilities have collapsed at the SLN after the transfer of staff members to the Jeypore facility, which doesn't have proper infrastructure to accommodate the district headquarters hospital workers. The state government should have made alternate arrangements before transferring the workers," said Sagaria.

The MLA said the SLN, which was launched last year, did not have adequate doctors and para-medical workers, and so, the transfer should have been delayed till it got the required staff members. "The dharna will continue until our demand is fulfilled," he said. An official said that around 61 staff nurses, eight pharmacists, 45 doctors and around 80 other health officials will be shifted to Jeypore from Koraput.

"As present, the district headquarters hospital and the SLN are functioning in the same building. The workers will be shifted to Jeypore in three phases," said Koraput chief district medical officer Lalit Mohan Rath.

"To ensure that the health care facilities are not hampered at the SLN, only 14 doctors have been transferred in the first phase," he said.

An official said the district headquarters hospital would, for the time being, function from the sub-divisional hospital building in Jeypore but shortly shift to the newly constructed 50-bed model maternity and child health care ward constructed at Phulobado, situated on the outskirts of Jeypore, with a budget around Rs 8 crore.

"We have already shifted beds and the required equipment to the building from Koraput. Shortly, it will start functioning," Rath said, adding that a new building would be built for Rs 52 crore on the ward premises to run the district headquarters hospital. "A detailed design and estimate for the new building has been prepared, and the work for it will start. Once the building is completed, there will be no problem in functioning of the headquarters hospital."