Mansa civil hospital lacks basic facilities

A visit to the civil hospital here is enough to see its sorry state of affairs. The hospital, housed in a decent building of its own, lacks even the basic amenities and is severely short of adequate staff and doctors.

A visit to the civil hospital here is enough to see its sorry state of affairs. The hospital, housed in a decent building of its own, lacks even the basic amenities and is severely short of adequate staff and doctors.

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The 100-bed hospital has around 20 doctors attending to over 500 patients visiting its out-patient department (OPD) daily. The hospital is dependent on tw0 surgeons who are overburdened with responsibilities. The hospital's only blood bank doesn't have a blood transfusion officer.

"The hospital is heavily short of staff. I am a surgeon acting as a senior medical officer also. We don't have a single skin specialist in the hospital. And, in most of the cases, we have to refer the patients to such hospitals as have better facilities as patients demand modern equipment," said Dr Nishan Singh, a senior doctor.

Listing out the necessary arrangements lacking in the hospital, the doctor said that there are no facilities of MRI scan, CT scan and there is no neuro-surgeon in the hospital. With no radiologist, child specialist and cancer specialist at the helm of affairs, the services in the hospital have hit a new low.

Patients also alleged that a number of chemist shops near the hospital premises have turned the situation ugly. "The doctors prescribe the medicines that are nopt available in the hospital and have to be bought from chemists, who charge heavy rates for these medicines," said Hardeep Singh, a local patient.

The gynaecology department has only two doctors who even have to monitor caesarean cases. The maternity ward (or labour ward) lacks sterilised bed sheets which were earlier disapproved by the deputy director of the health department during her visit to the hospital a few days ago. The ultrasound department has no doctor to carry out the diagnosis.

"The previous deputy commissioner requested a private doctor to carry out the ultrasound service for 2 hours every day. We don't have doctors of our own. This is a major concern for the patients as it normally happens that the doctor doesn't arrive in time," said Nishan Singh.

A few days ago, patients even staged a protest for lack of drinking water in the hospital premises.