Hyderabad: Underperformance, ad hoc work without any standard plan in place and non-supporting seniors were found to be the major reason for poor performance of frontline healthcare workers who worked in government programmes of maternal and child health, curative care, tuberculosis control programme and health education programmes, according to a survey carried out in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
It was found that male healthcare workers spent only five-and-a-half hours on the job and they were not being utilised to their full capacity. The female health care workers did better spending six to seven hours on the job against the expected eight hours.
The study published in the journal Human Resources also found that staff spent less time on the job in tribal areas compared to non-tribal areas.
In rural and urban slums these frontline workers were also used for adolescent health and non-communicable diseases programmes but they have not been effective as changes at the community level are minimal. Most female healthcare workers were assigned to maternal and child health, while male workers were involved in seasonal diseases and school health programmes.
A senior health official with the Hyderabad district health office, explained, “The pattern of work is following up with pregnant women, basic curative care, following up with tuberculosis patients, checking on intake of medicine, and health education and motivation. There is no standard plan because the supervising officer uses the same staff in many ad hoc programmes. There are state and central government programmes, and whenever there is a shortage, staff from various sectors are pooled together.”
