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Ludhiana: Severe staff crunch cripples civil hospital, patients bear the brunt
Civil Hospital in Ludhiana is struggling with a severe shortage of staff, including both doctors and support staff like nurses and Class IV employees. Despite being a 300-bed facility, the hospital is facing a major shortage of regular staff against the sanctioned posts
The Civil Hospital in Ludhiana is struggling with a severe shortage of staff, including both doctors and support staff like nurses and Class IV employees. Despite being a 300-bed facility, the hospital is facing a major shortage of regular staff against the sanctioned posts. Due to this, patients as well as doctors are having a hard time.
As per the guidelines of the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), a 100-bedded hospital must have manpower of 105, including doctors and staff nurses. Similarly, a 300-bedded hospital must have a strength of 251 staff, including 50 doctors, 135 staff nurses and 66 paramedics.
As per sources, the capacity of beds in the civil hospital had been increased from 100 to 280 but the number of sanctioned posts were not increased by the government.
According to information from the Civil Hospital authorities, there are three posts of medicine doctors out of which two are vacant. Similarly, there are 15 posts of emergency medical officers (EMOs) out of which only four are filled and six are vacant as five specialist doctors have been recruited to five posts of EMOs.
There are two orthopaedic doctors and two surgeons on two each sanctioned posts. There is no opthalmic doctor available in the Civil Hospital against one sanctioned post. The doctor working as opthalmic doctor is from the mobile eye care van who is serving in a civil hospital.
Against one post of ENT doctor, there is one doctor, against one post of skin doctor there is availability of one doctor. There is one radiologist in the hospital against one post.
Sources said no review of cadre was done for the last two decades to increase the strength of the staff in the hospital. The staff sanctioned in the Civil Hospital is as per the census done in 1991. With the increasing population, the review of manpower was not done.
The Civil Hospital serves not just the people of Ludhiana city but also those from surrounding areas like Jagraon, Raikot, Mullanpur, Sahnewal and Doraha.
A doctor at the Civil Hospital seeking anonymity said, “The Civil Hospital in Ludhiana is facing a shortage of both medical professionals and support staff. More manpower is required as per the size of the district. The high volume of patients in the OPD combined with a shortage of staff is leading to inadequate care for patients.”
A non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in the Civil Hospital has also taken back its 14 staff members given to the hospital for support. This includes staff nurses, computer operators, lab technicians and other support staff.
Patients coming to the OPD are suffering due to the shortage of staff as people have to wait for long hours for their turn.
Jora Singh, 65, a resident of Khanpur, said, “I have been waiting since morning for my turn outside the medicine OPD. There is a long queue of patients and I have to wait here despite pain in my stomach.”
Ajay Sharma, 37, a resident of Samrala Chowk, said,” I am lying here with fracture on both my legs. I’m waiting for my turn for the past three hours.”
