Inordinate delay has been alleged in treatment for patients with heart-related ailments at the Department of Cardiology in Government Rajaji Hospital, primarily owing to shortage of doctors and sharp increase in number of patients.
Patients alleged that apart from delays the doctors were also inclined towards treating patients covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme instead of those who were not covered.
N. Suresh, relative of a 43-year-old male patient from Thoothukudi, said that their family had to wait for around two weeks at the hospital to get angioplasty done. “My relative was diagnosed with five blocks (in coronary arteries) at a private hospital in Thoothukudi. Since we could not afford treatment there, we came to GRH,” he said.
More than the delay, Mr. Suresh alleged that the problem was the absence of clear communication.
“We were just asked to wait with no clarity on when the procedure would be done. Since my relative had just suffered a cardiac arrest, we were scared that something could go wrong,” he said.
M. Rajamani, a resident of Ellis Nagar, who had recently brought his mother for treatment, alleged that he was tacitly encouraged to get angioplasty done at a private hospital citing delays since his mother did not have CMCHIS card.
Burden on doctors
Refuting the allegation that patients without CMSHIS card were denied treatment, a doctor at the department, speaking on anonymity, said that referrals from surrounding districts had increased manifold, resulting in huge burden on doctors at GRH.
Another doctor pointed out that patients from even hospitals like Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital were referred here for angioplasty due to lack of doctors there. “Such referrals should be avoided by enabling TMCH to handle its own cases,” he said.
Acknowledging that patients were referred to GRH, a senior official from TMCH, however, claimed that the hospital’s Cardiology department had two doctors but lacked infrastructural facilities.
Madurai-based health rights activist C. Anandaraj said that around ten doctors presently available at GRH were grossly inadequate to handle the overwhelming number of patients. Pointing out that the number of patients in Cardiology department had more than doubled within two years, he said, “The OP ward in Cardiology department is perhaps the most overcrowded in GRH. The number of doctors should at least be doubled,” he said.
When contacted, a senior official from GRH said that they had already requested to the government for additional doctors and were expecting a positive reply soon.
