OPD delay, staff absence main issues at Civil Hospital, finds chief officer during surprise check

Pointing at the delay in starting out-patient department (OPD) services and absence of staff at the registration counters, the chief medical officer said that explanations will be sought and warnings issued to doctors and staff over their lax behaviour in running the hospital

Senior district health department officials found several shortcomings in the functioning of the Civil Hospital in Sector 10 during a surprise inspection on Thursday.

Chief medical officer Dr Virender Yadav (left) was at the Sector 10 Civil Hospital at 8.30am. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Pointing at the delay in starting out-patient department (OPD) services and absence of staff at the registration counters, the chief medical officer said that explanations will be sought and warnings issued to doctors and staff over their lax behaviour in running the hospital.

“During the inspection at 8.30am, we found that there was no one at the registration counter, which is at the entrance of the main hospital building. Only four doctors were present in the hospital at the time when OPD services had to start. Since many doctors were not present on time, OPDs started late by almost an hour and affected the functioning of the hospital. Even the hospital pharmacy was closed in the absence of the staff, and the landline number of the emergency ward was not operational,” said Dr Virender Yadav, the chief medical officer of Gurugram.

Except for super speciality departments, such as cardiology, neurology, and nephrology, Civil Hospital runs OPD for all departments, including medicine, surgery, Ear Nose Throat (ENT), eye and dental. Every day, the OPD registers a footfall of 1,000-1,500 patients.

It is the only government hospital in the city after the main government hospital in Civil Lines was shut in 2019 for reconstruction. Several departments were shifted to the Sector 10 hospital, making it the main government-designated tertiary care centre. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by vaccination, the hospital has been receiving a heavy footfall. Several improvised services, such as setting up oxygen plants and better bed management for Covid-19 patients, have also been undertaken.

Yadav said that the purpose of the inspection was to see the routine functioning of the hospital as all health services have been resumed after the second wave of Covid-19.

Refusing to give an exact count of staff and doctors who were not available during the working hours, Yadav said that appropriate action will be taken. According to him, calls were being made to doctors to seek explanations for their absence, due to which OPD could not be started on time.

“The entire hospital services were hampered due to callousness of the hospital staff. A warning letter will be issued to doctors and staff who were not present. For those who reached the hospital and were late, their assigned privilege leaves will be marked. Those who did not make it to the hospital, their salary for the day will be deducted,’’ said Yadav.