E-Paper
Ambulances, staff shortage at civil hospital push patients outside district
The 16 ICU beds, equipped with ventilators, at district civil hospital are left non-operational post-Covid due to lack of staff
The health services at government hospitals in Ludhiana are facing a severe crisis as critically ill patients are being forced to seek tertiary care in Chandigarh and Patiala due to non-operational ICU beds and ventilators following a lack of trained staff at the district civil hospital.
Manoj, a 24-year-old patient, who was bitten by a snake, was referred multiple times between hospitals in Ludhiana, which highlights the dire situation faced by approximately 150 patients each month.
His ordeal began at CHC Sahnewal, where he was unable to receive the necessary treatment due to his critical condition. He was then referred to Lord Mahavir District Civil Hospital, where again, the facility lacked the required resources to provide adequate care.
With no option left in Ludhiana, Manoj was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Chandigarh, over 100 kilometers away from Ludhiana, to seek advanced medical attention. Unfortunately, the hospital was unable to provide an emergency ambulance until 6 am, forcing his kin to spend ₹3,500 on a private ambulance to transport him.
Manoj’s story is not an isolated incident. Nearly 150 patients face similar situations each month due to Ludhiana’s largest government health care facility’s inability to accommodate patients in need of critical care. The 16 ICU beds, equipped with ventilators, at the civil hospital are non-operational post-Covid due to a lack of staff.
The number of referral cases has been steadily rising in 2023, with 103 patients in January, 107 in February, 127 in March, 122 in April, 172 in May, 194 in June, and 177 in July, painting a grim picture of the health care system’s state.
Adding to the already dire circumstances, Ludhiana suffers from a scarcity of emergency ambulances equipped with life-saving ventilator facilities. The district currently possesses only 41 basic life support ambulances, rendering patients vulnerable during transportation without access to the necessary medical attention and support.
Forced to rely on private ambulances, patients incur significant financial burdens with charges ranging from ₹2,000 to ₹5,500 for ventilator-equipped ambulances. Also, private ambulances do not guarantee admission to the referred hospital, exacerbating the woes of suffering patients.
According to Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) guidelines, a 100-bedded hospital must have a manpower of 105, while a 300-bedded hospital should have 251 staff members, including doctors, staff nurses and paramedics. However, the Ludhiana Civil Hospital struggles to meet these standards, leaving the 16-bed ICU inoperable due to a lack of adequately trained staff.
Dr Charan Kamal, the nodal officer at the emergency ward of Ludhiana Civil Hospital, said patients with critical conditions, such as acute head injuries, polytrauma and various medical specialities, including cardiology, gastroenterology, urology, nephrology, and oncology, are regularly referred to tertiary care facilities in Chandigarh and Patiala as the hospital is adversely short staffed.
Civil surgeon Dr Hitinder Kaur acknowledged the crisis and said they have sought the sanctioning of additional staff for the ICU unit to ensure its smooth operation. She highlighted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICU was functional as emergency cases were diverted to ESI Hospital, but the current shortage of staff has rendered the regular ICU non-functional.
As per IPHS guidelines, a 300-bedded hospital should have six high dependency unit (HDU) beds, four general ICU beds, two general isolation beds, four HDU pediatric beds, two pediatric ICU beds, seven obstetric HDU beds, four obstetric ICU beds, and one isolation unit. However, the Lord Mahavir Hospital is far out of the criteria laid by IPHS
