Support staff crunch cripples govt hospital

Malkajgiri: The 50-bedded government hospital in Malkajgiri was opened to public last September. The facility handles around 350 outpatients every day for general, casualty, emergency, pediatrics and ophthalmology problems.

Though it has adequate strength of doctors for general, casualty, emergency, pediatrics, ophthalmology and other departments, it is facing a shortage of helping hands like nurses, lab technicians and lab assistants, which is adding to the work load on current staff.

Speaking to the Hans India here on Monday, an official shared, "We have only 9 nurses when there should be 35 and the crunch is increasing the workload on other nurses who have to work extra. There is no pharmacist and regular lab technician. We have to hire a lab technician on a third-party basis which costs a lot. We have radiologists but we don't have the radiology equipment.

The hospital's operation theater is running without any OT assistant, which burdens other nurses and doctors who have to manage in between their regular duties. Except dental, all other specialty wards are there. We have not received any satisfactory response from the officials concerned until now. If there are no sufficient nurses to help the doctors how will the hospital run properly? Just as having a doctor is important, having nurses and lab technicians is also important to run a full-fledged hospital."

If all the necessary demands are fulfilled this hospital can become a boon for all the locals and will be one of the best-equipped hospitals in the city, the medical staff opined.

Till the government concedes their demand and provides the needed staff, poor patients and those in emergency cases will continue to suffer and wait inordinately for treatment.