Puducherry’s oldest government hospital in dire straits

Acute shortage of manpower, cash crunch making it difficult for patients as well as staff at the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital.

June 14, 2019 12:02 am | Updated 10:09 am IST - PUDUCHERRY

Patients lying on the floor with no chairs to sit.

Patients lying on the floor with no chairs to sit.

The Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital, housed in a 329-year-old building, is struggling to cope with the ever-increasing flow of patients, including those from the neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu.

The hospital, established in 1690, is facing a severe space crunch and manpower shortage. Records show that on an average 5,000 people visit it and around 300 get admitted every day, a Health Department official told The Hindu .

“There is no space even to stand during morning hours to book the outpatient tickets. At certain times, we have to wait outside for several minutes even to enter the hospital,” said Murugan, a resident of Nettapakkam.

Mr. Murugan, who accompanies his father regularly for his orthopaedic treatment, said patients often complained about the cramped atmosphere inside the outpatient unit. “The quality of treatment is much better here than any other government hospital. But it is the lack of facilities and sanitation that is a problem,” said Rajevelou, a patient from Lawspet. Sanitation had improved over the years but a lot needed to be done to keep the toilets and premises clean, he added.

PUDUCHERRY, 13/06/2019:  ( For UT Matter ) Patients waiting outside the OP counter to book tickets.  Photo: T.Singaravelou

Patients waiting outside the OP counter to book tickets.

According to a hospital attender, the situation in the in-patient ward has been going from bad to worse because of shortage of beds. The hospital had 738 beds but the number was reduced to 626 after the Rajiv Gandhi Government Women and Children’s Hospital was started as 112 beds were shifted to its paediatric ward.

Besides the usual admission of patients, emergency cases are referred from the neighbouring districts and health centres. Some patients have to sleep on a mattress on the floor, said the attender.

Emergency response

Whenever there is an outbreak of fever, surgeries in Ophthalmology and ENT departments are stopped to accommodate the rush of patients, said a hospital staff.

According to a senior doctor, the real issue was funds crunch.

“The government has to get its priorities right. I mean what is the use of spending huge money on manimandapams when you are facing cash crunch to provide basic healthcare to people. There are certain departments which are overstaffed. Here, we face shortage of specialists and paramedical staff,” he said.

There was a proposal to demolish two old blocks — one at the office of the Resident Medical Officer and the other near the forensic lab. The project had not received approval because of lack of funds. Each block would cost about ₹10 crore, the doctor said.

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine has been under repair for a long time. The patients were referred to a private clinic for MRI and the cost was reimbursed to the clinic, said a staff.

No oncology facility

The hospital lacked several important specialities, including vascular surgery, surgical oncology, surgical and medical gastroenterology and radio therapy.

Medical oncology has emerged as a critical domain considering that nearly 1,000 people died of cancer every year in the Union Territory. “Most of the people have to seek treatment outside the Union Territory,” said a doctor.

The facility for cancer treatment was available only at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer). In fact, the Centre did not concede the demand for a cancer hospital in the Union Territory citing that Jipmer had the facility, said another doctor.

For providing a more effective treatment, the hospital must strengthen its manpower, including specialists and nurses, by at least 20%. The existing strength of staff was 1,104, including 32 specialists, 291 nurses and 158 ward attenders.

The shortage of ward attenders has become a headache as it puts more pressure on nurses.

“There is a huge shortage of attenders. Sometimes those accompanying the patient are old and can’t take the patient on the stretcher or wheelchair. On such occasions, we have to double up as attendants,” said a staff nurse.

Shifting the patient from one block to another for lab tests and examination too becomes a challenge for the nurses.

“It is time the government stepped in and upgraded one of the oldest government hospitals and which continues to provide quality treatment,” said a senior doctor.

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