Junior residents manage govt hospital’s emergency ward

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 10

The emergency ward of the Government Rajindra Hospital is staffed by only junior residents (PG students) before patients are shifted to the special wards.

However, emergency ward, meant for urgent and life-threatening cases, is supposed to be handled by senior doctors and a Casualty Medical Officer or Emergency Medical Officer is a must in the ward.

According to experts, handling of critical and emergency cases by inexperienced medicos may aggravate the risk of casualties. However, sources said senior residents were available on call only.

The Medical Council of India (MCI), in its College Assessment Report in Renewal of Permission, for an increase of seats for the fifth batch, had pointed out that the hospital was operating without Emergency Medical Officers.

The MCI had, in fact, reported: “There is no casualty Medical Officer posted in the casualty ward. Post-graduation students from various departments are being posted as the Casualty Medical Officer on a rotation basis.”

A senior medical officer said: “A tertiary government hospital is being run without any Emergency Medical Officer – the government is playing with lives of people. Post-graduation students are not well-trained to handle critical cases.”

Sources said the said posts have been lying vacant for the past two years and only post-graduation students are being posted to take care of the emergency ward.

Moreover, following the shortage of Emergency Medical Officers, post-graduation students have already written to the Addition Chief Secretary, Health, to hire the officers to avoid exploitation at work.

Medical Superintendent of Government Rajindra Hospital, Rajan Singla, said: “The posts of the EMO are lying vacant. We have already asked for six Emergency Medical Officers from the new recruitment of doctors.”