Baijnath Civil Hospital has no specialist doctors

Ravinder Sood 

Palampur, December 10

Baijnath Civil Hospital, which looks after the medical needs of over one lakh patients every year is in bad shape. Despite spending crores of rupees on this health institution, the health services are far from satisfactory. 

It was declared as a 100-bedded hospital by the state government long ago and posts of 14 doctors, including specialists, had been created. At present, there are no specialist doctors in the hospital. Besides, the post of a gynecologist is also lying vacant. 

At present, patients have to move to other hospitals such as government medical college, Tanda, and Palampur or health institutions in Punjab for small ailments. 

The absence of a gynecologist has been causing great inconvenience to the people, as no deliveries are conducted nor other surgeries performed here. As many as 12 cases of gynecology are referred to Tanda medical college, Civil Hospital, Palampur, or to private hospitals from here. In the absence of a surgeon, the general surgeries are also not being performed here.

A patient outside the hospital said his son had met with an accident with serious injuries, but there was no one to attend to him. He was directed by the doctor on duty either to go to Tanda medical college or Civil Hospital, Palampur. 

There is no provision in the hospital to attend to emergencies. Serious cases are seldom treated here. On many occasions, patients die for want of medical care. Likewise, most of the accident cases are referred either to Tanda or outside the state.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Gurdarshan Gupta said efforts were being made to fill the posts of PG doctors in the hospital so that specialised treatment could be provide to the patients .