Two helpdesks, called “Akshay Sanjeevini” and “Akshay Ambara” set up by the Indian Red Cross Society were inaugurated at Lady Goschen Hospital here on Tuesday. While anybody can contribute medicines (in good condition and within the expiry date) to the former desk, the latter would accept anything that was of use to newborn infants.
After inaugurating the helpdesks, Ajai Kumar Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Corporation Bank, said that the initiative was a positive step at a time when one read negative news. He said that the bank would support the initiative.
Shantharam Shetty, orthopaedic surgeon and Vice-Chancellor of Nitte University, said that a blood bank was necessary for the hospital. The helpdesk would help patients in getting blood and help them with transport in case it was required.
Shakuntala M.M., Medical Superintendent, Lady Goschen Hospital, hoped the blood bank would open as soon as possible at the hospital. Postgraduate students had to get blood for the patients. The hospital used 60 to 100 units of blood a month. Sometimes, it had to get 20 to 30 units of blood for a single patient. It sourced blood from Kasturba Medical College Hospital, Attavar, Wenlock Hospital, and sometimes had to get blood from sources in Bangalore. As of now, there had been no loss of life because of lack of blood, she said.
The hospital had the required laboratory equipment and a blood bank. The blood bank should have a licence to start working. The hospital had applied for a licence and had been told that the request for the licence would be approved. It required two lab assistants and a doctor. “We are thinking of asking KMC,” she said. There were already two lab assistants working at the laboratory and one more assistant was required. (Four are from the government and three are from the help desk, she said). The hospital was facing a problem with assistants at night. “It is a big headache,” she said.
Instead of the office assistants who were sleepy, the interns went to get blood. The helpdesk could address this problem too.
She said she hoped ‘Akshay Sanjeevini’ would help in getting medicines quickly. “Since it is a government hospital, I cannot give medicines immediately… there are procedures. We (the hospital) are the first referral hospital, patients are in (a) bad (shape). Emergency drug funds will help ,” she said.
