Blood bank grapples with staff shortage

Sameer Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 21

Owing to an acute shortage of staff, the blood bank unit at the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, has witnessed a significant dip in the number of donors in the past one month. The unit was already short-staffed but there has been a further decrease in the number of employees of late.

According to a senior functionary in the unit, they are barely able to streamline things and somehow managed to put things together by adjusting and working extra hours on a rotational basis. Recently, a lab technician was transferred to some other hospital while another lab technician joined a renowned private hospital in the region, reducing the staff load further.

He went on to add that working in the blood bank requires expertise and technical know-how to be able to perform the job effectively and with minimal errors. Burdening the already burdened staff might have repercussions that neither the staff members nor patients can afford, the functionary pointed out.

Sources said against the requirement of a minimum of eight lab technicians, there were six working at the blood bank unit of the hospital. But after two of them left recently, the unit has been left only with four now.

“Apart from working at the blood bank unit, the lab technicians are also required to organise blood donation camps and carry out other field activities. Since they remain engaged in other work, the number of donors has dropped by up to 30 per cent in the last one month alone. We have to take the necessary steps to ensure that the count of blood donors does not decline further,” said Inderdeep Singh, Blood Transfusion Officer, Blood Bank, Civil Hospital, Bathinda.

“We do not want to burden our existing staff as that might lead to an untoward situation. We have written to the senior medical officer of the Civil Hospital regarding the shortage of staff and how work has been affected as a result. We are waiting for their response,” Inderdeep Singh said.

Notably, a lab technician’s job requires him to conduct blood tests, issue blood units, ensure collection, storage, cross matching, field activity (organising blood donation camps and spreading awareness), blood transfusion and maintenance of records, among other works.

Dr Satish Goyal, Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, did not respond to numerous attempts made to contact him over the phone.