Relatives of patients block road over ‘forced discharges’ at Dadahu hospital in Renukaji

Tension gripped Dadahu Civil Hospital in Renukaji Assembly constituency of Sirmaur district yesterday evening when attendants of admitted patients staged a protest against the hospital administration for allegedly discharging patients forcibly.

The situation turned chaotic after relatives of the patients, angered by the sudden move, blocked the main road outside the hospital gate, bringing traffic to a halt for nearly 45 minutes. Reports suggest that of the 36 patients admitted to the hospital, 12 were discharged abruptly, some of them even while still on intravenous drips.

Furious attendants alleged that the hospital is facing an acute shortage of doctors and nursing staff, resulting in poor patient care. They claimed that only one doctor and one nurse were on duty, making it impossible to provide proper treatment to all patients. The protesters accused the Health Department and the state government of neglecting healthcare services, forcing patients to suffer due to the collapsed system.

Dadahu Tehsildar Jai Singh Thakur rushed to the spot to pacify the demonstrators. After interacting with patients and their attendants, he intervened to ensure that the 12 discharged patients were re-admitted. He also contacted the district administration, following which the Deputy Commissioner sought a detailed report from the Health Department on the incident. The protest was later called off and normal traffic movement resumed.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Sirmaur, Dr Amitabh Jain, admitted to the shortage of staff at Dadahu Civil Hospital. He said against a sanctioned strength of 10 doctors, only one is currently available, while just two nurses are present out of the 12 posts. He assured that additional staff would soon be deputed from other hospitals to manage the situation.