Ludhiana: VIP duties disrupt patient care at civil hospital
The short noticed deployment of key medical personnel left hundreds of patients waiting for extended periods and resulted in the cancellation of scheduled surgeries
: The involvement of medical experts and surgeons from Lord Mahaveer district civil hospital in VIP duties during Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s visit on Friday led to a severe disruption in patient care at the facility.
The short noticed deployment of key medical personnel left hundreds of patients waiting for extended periods and resulted in the cancellation of scheduled surgeries.
The VIP duties, assigned to the only medicine expert and surgeon at the hospital, created an overwhelming burden on an already understaffed medical institution. Patients expecting surgical procedures on the same day were left disappointed due to the unavailability of their designated physicians.
A 40-year-old patient, Amjad, shared her ordeal, saying, “I was supposed to undergo gall bladder surgery today. I was asked to get a diabetes test done and report to the operation theatre at 8 AM. I arrived at 7 AM after having my blood sugar tested, but now, three hours later, they inform us that general surgeries won’t be performed today. ”
Patients who had received appointments for surgeries the day before were left frustrated by the sudden cancellations. Lor Pursansa, a 45-year-old daily wage labourer, said, “I took the day off from work for my scheduled appendix removal surgery, and now its postponement will cost me another day’s wage loss. This mismanagement is affecting finances.”
Surgeon Dr Ankur Uppal explained the situation, saying, “I received the formal letter of duty assignment only yesterday evening, hours after I had already given the appointments to patients. We were directed by health administrators to increase surgeries under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, so we added an extra day for surgeries, expanding from two days a week to three. However, due to the vacant surgeon post and additional administrative duties at the understaffed hospital, productivity has been compromised.”
The medicine OPD on Friday saw a staggering number of patients, with over 280 individuals waiting for hours to see a doctor. The OPD was managed by house surgeons, DRBs, and a doctor deputed from the periphery in Macchiwara due to the absence of another civil hospital doctor who was assigned VIP duty.
Dr Amanpreet, the sole medicine expert in the hospital, responsible for handling this high patient load said , “Managing the OPD in the district civil hospital requires optimal manpower, as we can see up to 300 patients in a single day. While such duties are part of our job, it would be more suitable if doctors from areas with a lower patient load were assigned these duties, considering the public’s best interest.”
Another doctor, speaking anonymously, expressed concerns about outdated VIP protocols, saying, “The CM already has a team of doctors accompanying him during his visits. The local administration sends another team of five doctors for standby service in an ambulance, while patients in need of critical care are left without medical attention. It’s high time for the government to reconsider such protocols that mismanage resources when they are already in short supply.”
Senior medical officer Dr Mandeep Kaur Sidhu commented on the situation, explaining, “Such duties are part of governmental protocols that must be executed. They are assigned on a rotational basis to doctors in both the periphery and the civil hospital, without discrimination. However, addressing these concerns will likely require filling the vacant positions.”