Most nurses inept, 50% of doctors not up to the mark: RGUHS V-C

Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SSCHRC) on Saturday inaugurated new equipment in its radiotherapy wing and robotic surgery sections.

Among the newly-added devices was the True Beam STX linear accelerator which delivers highly precise radiation doses to the patient with automation of all processes. The photons emitted to treat the cancer are precisely guided to the cancer site by directions of the inbuilt CT scan and specialised movements of the six-dimensional couch. The robot-assisted surgery with Da Vinci X will help patients with minimum invasion and faster recovery.

Dr M K Ramesh, Vice-Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), along with Subroto Bagchi, a cabinet-rank official in the Odisha government, and his wife Susmita Bagchi inaugurated the new additions.

Joining the inauguration virtually, surgical oncologist Dr B S Srinath, managing trustee, SSCHRC, lauded the Bagchis for their contribution to building a hospital in Bhubaneswar which will benefit Odisha and patients from the eastern part of the country.

"With the addition of these two new machines, cancer care at affordable costs will be both targeted and precise, which will help needy ailing patients. Robotic surgery makes urological surgeries safer. It has also become the standard treatment for prostate cancer," he said.

The Da Vinci technology is associated with lesser pain, less blood loss, shorter hospital stays and minimal postoperative complications. It also has voice and laser guidance systems, a lightweight endoscope and the same control console and a 3D optics system that lets surgeons see into the patients as they operate the device.

Robotics makes surgeries extremely precise by eliminating hand tremors and movement scaling resulting in fewer errors.

Incompetent nurses

In a no-holds-barred speech, Dr Ramesh made some surprising revelations. He recalled the time he spent 10 days at a corporate hospital for the treatment of his mother and remarked, "Some nurses didn't even know how to change an IV cannula. I have asked the SSCHRC to increase their nursing seat intake as we need quality training for nurses," he said.

Opening more medical colleges is not the solution and the quality of medical education should instead be the focus, he added.

"Politicians love to open medical colleges. But that is not the solution. The quality of medical education provided at these institutions should also be looked at. Half of the doctors we produce in the country today are not up to the mark," he said, drawing from his experience of having been the president of the Post Graduate Medical Education Board.

Dr Ramesh also said advanced medical and surgical research provided us with nanotechnology, cloning, genomic mapping, minimally invasive surgeries, and much more.

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