Overcrowding in Gandhi Nagar Hospital troublesome for patients

PS Bali

Jammu, November 4

Government Hospital Gandhi Nagar, which is catering huge number of patients from Jammu and its adjoining areas at par excellence with well equipped rooms having almost all the facilities available for the patients but overcrowding in the hospital premises turns it into troublesome for the patients and is irritating for doctors.

The patients allege that idle overcrowding in the hospital causes huge noise pollution and is also infuriating doctors. The overcrowded wards make doctors to refuse admission of the patients, which left no option for the patients but to get admitted in private hospitals.

On an average 1000 patients attend the Out Patient Departments (OPDs). As per official records, the hospital also occupies around 90 percent of the indoor patients on daily basis.

Irated with the patients flow, a condemnable episode was ensued in the hospital in October, where a doctor refused admitting Brij Kumar of Bihar. When he was crying with pain, doctors on duty refused to get him inside the hospital. Colleague of the patient resented that the doctors treated them as second class citizen, “doctors were already frustrated after treating rush of patients and on our turn they outburst,” said he.

State government sketched out a plan to thin out this problem and established new block with all latest necessities, but the menace of the overcrowding is still same.

“Government had discharged its duty successfully to separate the hospital into different blocks to thin out the crowd but the condition of the hospital is going bad to worse, with more and more crowd, mostly in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,” said an attendant, Neeraj.

He alleged that on one side where the hospitals in the Jammu region are craving for staff, this hospital is stuffed with members of nurses and ward boys. The hospital has nurses, who do their internship with the hospital, alleged attendant.

Patients also accused hospital authorities for not providing medicines to the needful patients. “We provide only injections to the patients that too pain killers, we are not empowered to provide medicines as we lack medicines,” said official, wishing anonymity.

Terming overcrowding good sign for the hospital, newly appointed superintendent, Dr Madhu Khullar said, “it is good to have over crowded hospitals and to prevent any inconvenience to patients we are working to streamline it and hopefully we will overcome it in the coming month. We have most overcrowding in Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and for that hospital administration have asked authorities for separate ward,” said she, adding that they are also working to discipline the para medical staff of the hospital.

“we had a meeting with paramedical staff, where it was instructed to them that they have to work in shift wise, like first year will work from 9am to 1pm and after that streak follows,” said Dr Madhu, adding that the hospital is still short of dozen nurses to execute work properly.