The absence of facilities and non-availability of doctors at the Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital (SVRRGGH) came to the fore yet again during a recent inspection.
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Hospital Development Committee Working Chairman Bandla Chandrasekhar, during a night visit to the hospital’s casualty ward on Wednesday, found a dead body waiting for the ‘Mahaprasthanam’ vehicle meant to carry it to the cemetery. The deceased person was A. Padmavathi from Aakambattu village in Puthalapattu mandal of Chittoor district.
“We were told that the assistance being provided by our hospital staff was not up to the mark,” said Mr. Chandrasekhar, while speaking to reporters.
He also observed a lack of stretchers at the ward to carry patients. A female patient from Kadapa district informed him that they had been told to buy medicines from outside.
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“We have adequate medicines at our pharmacy, but I don’t know why our doctors are referringpatients to private pharmacies,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said. The stretchercarriers were also found to be demanding money from poor patients for taking them to the in-house diagnostic centre and back.
The Chairman, who formally sent a report on his observations to the Superintendent, marking copies to the local MLA, Collector and Joint Collector, maintained that similar complaints had been reported in the past, but no action was initiated on the same.