Staff crunch ails Amritsar railway hospital; patients suffer

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 28

Healthcare services at the Railway’s Sub-Divisional Hospital (SDH), situated in its residential locality B-block, have been severely hit due to the shortage of staff. After the expiry of the contract of four doctors, no effort has been made to renew their contract or appoint new doctors.

Besides, a health unit, situated at the Amritsar railway station, has been lying closed for not recruiting a doctor. The contract of the solo doctor, posted at the railway station unit, has expired some time ago, no new doctor has been recruited to take care of patients since. Railway management has also failed to appoint a new doctor or renew the contract of the doctor working here as train services have been hampered for over the past month due to the farmers’ agitation.

Against the sanctioned strength of eight medicos, there are only four doctors available at the SDH. The contract of four doctors had expired nearly three months ago. The hospital is already functioning with half of its sanctioned staff strength.

The contract of an ophthalmologist had expired in September and that of a dentist years ago. The contracts of a surgeon and an orthopaedic expired in July.

Retired employees stated that as no dental chair was available there, they were asked to avail of dental services at Government Dental Hospital where staff and infrastructure are also woefully short and a large number of patients visit daily.

Dr Ashok Kumar Saini, Chief Medical Superintendent of SDH, said the delay in making fresh appointments at the hospital indicated that regular doctors might be filled up by regular doctors.

He said efforts were being made to provide the best of facilities to patients, though there were limited logistics. Air-conditioners were installed in two general wards, separate for men and women patients, he said.

He said, “There has never been created a post of dental doctor. Over three years ago, a part-time dental doctor was there.” He said railway staff was being offered the best of advanced testing facilities, besides cashless treatment in 20 private hospitals across the city.

The state-of-the-art automated bio-chemistry analyser, which carries out 10,000 tests per month, is available here, though only one lab technician is available to handle it. The automatic cell counter machine tests blood cells, for example blood platelets, in only two minutes. The SDH is likely to soon receive an arterial blood gases machine and an automatic urine analyser pipeline.

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