Kaithal hospital needs health check

Satish Seth

Kaithal, April 29

The district-level 200-bed multi-specialty hospital is facing an acute shortage of doctors. There are only 12 doctors against the sanctioned strength of 55. These doctors have to perform multiple duties when some of them are on leave or away to courts for tendering evidence in medico-legal cases or performing post-mortem.

Sources say doctors have to examine 1,000 to 1,500 patients in the OPD daily. There was no DM or MD doctors and MBBS doctors attend to hundreds of patients who require the services of cardiologists and specialised physicians. There is a shortage of paramedical staff as well. Hospital labs are woefully short of microbiologists and pathologists, they add.

Meanwhile, hepatitis-C patients have appreciated the government’s move to start treatment of the disease in the Kaithal hospital a few months ago. Earlier, such patients had to go to the PGIMS, Rohtak, or other big hospitals. As many as 50 hepatitis-C patients are being treated in the hospital. However, 1,500 such patients registered for treatment are still on the hospital’s waiting list due to a shortage of medicines.

Dr Manish Bansal, Chief Medical Officer, says their treatment will begin after an adequate supply of medicines is received.

The Chief Minister had over a year ago announced to start CT scan and MRI facilities in the hospital, but the announcement remains on paper. However, the CMO says that there is likelihood of a CT scan centre being set up soon as the government has entered into an agreement with a private firm for it. The government is taking steps to fill posts of general duty medical officer, gynaecologist, physician, surgeon, eye surgeon etc.

Gurnam Singh, a patient, says as all medicines prescribed by doctors are not available in the hospital, they have to buy these from private shops.