Funds allocated for burns ward, but staff crunch hits operations

The Millennium City may boast of being the healthcare hub of the country, but it does not have a burns ward in any of its multi-specialty hospitals across the city.

The Millennium City may boast of being the healthcare hub of the country, but it does not have a burns ward in any of its multi-specialty hospitals across the city.

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Though funds have been allocated for the setting up of a burns ward, the civil hospital continues to refer serious burns cases to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The doctors at the government hospital attribute this to the lack of dedicated staff for the six-bed burns ward, which became functional in September 2012.

“No staff nurse has been deployed for the burns ward. We don’t even have dedicated doctors to run the burns ward,” said Dr Sanjay Narula, burns ward in-charge, civil hospital.

Adults with more than 40% burns and children with more than 20% are referred to Delhi as there is an increased risk of the spread of infection. The burns are measured according to the total surface area of the affected body.

For this, the ward needs a dedicated team comprising at least one specialist medical officer and four staff nurses, who will work in shifts.

The burns ward was set up with funds of Rs 43 lakh given by the union ministry of health in March 2011. Since then, it has treated 77 patients.The hospital is trying to acquire one advanced life-support ambulance too, for which R16 lakh has been deposited with the National Rural Health Mission.