Rly hospital faces shortage of staff, docs

Ravi Chandel

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 11

The only railway hospital located at Railway Colony here is facing a shortage of staff and doctors.

The Railway Pensioners and Welfare Men’s Association had written a letter to the Union Railway Minister to apprise him of the ailing condition of the hospital, but nothing has been done to improve the condition.

In the early 70s, the hospital was providing diagnostic facilities to patients.

Now, the ECG machines have been lying defunct for the past many years due to a staff crunch.

There are two sanctioned posts of doctor, but only one doctor has been working for the past four years. Besides, the post of staff nurse has also been lying vacant for the past many years.

A hospital employee, who did not wish to be quoted, said, “Every day, around 150 to 200 patients visit the hospital and it has become difficult to examine each patient. We have informed the higher authorities on a regular basis about the shortage of doctors and staff nurses, but to no avail.”

He said to provide better healthcare facilities to patients, the hospital was associated with Max Hospital and Delhi Heart Institute.

Patients visiting the hospital said most of the time, the medicines prescribed by doctors were not available at the railway hospital.

Kumar Sanjeev, a patient, said, “The only good thing is that the Railways has tied up with private hospitals for providing better healthcare services. However in emergency, it becomes tough for the patient and the lone doctor to tackle the situation.”

Moreover, in the absence of a female doctor, female patients were left with no option but to visit private clinics, he added.

Despite repeated attempts, Divisional Railway Manager Dinesh Kumar Sharma could not be contacted.