Govt hospitals lack staff, maintenance

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 7

The Amritsar district has around 40 government health institutions, including big and small. All of them share the same fate when compared in terms of shortage of the staff, lack of maintenance of buildings and work-out machinery.

Broken door of a toilet, urinal and wash basin without flow pipes at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar. PHOTO: RK SONI

Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, where students undergo clinical training, is in utter state of neglect. This hospital is associated with the Government Medical College, the most renowned institute in the district.

Apart from large number of vacant posts in teaching, non-teaching and technical cadres, buildings of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital require immediate attention.

Many new facilities as Bebe Nanki Mother and Child Care Centre were introduced recently, but nobody seems keen for the upkeep of old buildings. Even hostels for students in the college are in a bad condition.

On a visit to the hospital, it was found that mattresses of many beds meant for patients were worn out. Wooden log could be seen under a bed for providing support to one of the broken legs. The college had recently purchased around 90 examination tables. Each table cost Rs 4.5 lakh. The basic sanitation is poor and the quality of patient services is also bad. The condition of washrooms is such that the people prefer not to use these.

The state of affairs at other big hospitals in the city as Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital is much better in terms of infrastructure and buildings despite facing a huge shortage of staff. There is no staff for new facilities introduced at the hospital many years ago.

The health centres being managed by the Municipal Corporation are also in a state of neglect. The buildings of Municipality Hospital Dhab Khatika, Sant Ram Aggarwal Jenana Hospital Narayan Ghar, dispensary near octroi post at Guru Nanak Dev University, dispensary at Hargobindpura need immediate attention.

Shortage of employees at most of these centres causes problems in dispensing of proper health services to the general public. The local authorities had sent a proposal for the renovation of buildings of these health institutions a few months ago, but the work is yet to begun.

The condition of the ESI Hospital, Ram Lal Eye Hospital, TB Sanatorium, satellite hospitals is also not better in terms of maintenance of buildings and availability of the staff.

Dispensaries in rural areas are far worse than those in the city. The residents of rural areas have to travel to the city in case they require services of a specialist.