Almost a month after the resignation of the former medical superintendent (MS) of the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, the Department of Medical Education on Thursday appointed Dr Girish Sahni to head the hospital. He was the head of the orthopaedic department of the hospital.
The predecessor, Dr HS Rekhi, had resigned last month, citing health reasons. It is pertinent to mention that his resignation came amid the controversy over the “overstay” of incarcerated AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra at the hospital.
The Punjab government is learnt to have been reportedly unhappy over the “poor” administration of the hospital. Also, the hospital has been facing time and again the shortage of medicines despite Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s direction to ensure availability of all the medicines in the hospital’s pharmacy.
As of today, the situation has not improved and the poor patients visiting the Government Rajindra Hospital are being continuously compelled to buy medicines from private shops. Patients often say that the government’s promise of providing all the medicines, listed on the Essential Drug List (EDL), from the hospitals has fallen flat. The HT has learnt that the basic medicines, such as antacids, antibiotics and painkillers, are not available therein.
Dr Girish Sahni said, “The priority is to provide the best possible healthcare facilities to the patients. The issue of availability of medicines will be resolved and the process to procure medicines will be streamlined.”
{{/usCountry}}Dr Girish Sahni said, “The priority is to provide the best possible healthcare facilities to the patients. The issue of availability of medicines will be resolved and the process to procure medicines will be streamlined.”
{{/usCountry}}Director principal resigns
The director principal of the Government Medical College (GMC) and Rajindra Hospital, Dr Rajan Singla, resigned on Wednesday, citing health issues. The Department of Medical Education is yet to appoint a new director principal of the facility. Priyank Bharti, secretary, Medical Education Department, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.