The woes of patients, the deplorable conditions of wards, staff crunch, lack of co-ordination and maintenance: the conditions prevailing can, in no manner, qualify it as a hospital.
Health of carrying mothers, reducing infant mortality rate, improving post-natal care, etc, are some of the focus areas the Government is trying to improve upon. Unfortunately, none of them seems to be implemented to the maximum at the District Hospital.
Long wait
Pregnant women are seen in long queues for hours, waiting for check-ups. Most new mothers are seen lying on the floor in the wards, along with their infants. Neither hygiene nor nutrition levels in the hospital are in acceptable range. Even access to the Madilu kit is not as easy task.
In other hospitals, after deliveries, the mothers and the infants are kept at least for a few days and later discharged, after giving them proper treatment. But here, mothers are sent back home immediately after delivery.
Only name
The hospital is district hospital only by title.
There are no facilities even upto the levels of a taluk hospital. Though the Government has sanctioned 250 beds, only 150 are available at present. There is no additional space to host the remaining beds.
If on the one hand there is a shortage of doctors and nurses, on the other hand, there are no modern equipment, medicines and other facilities available. Even the general surgeon has not been appointed so far. Till date, the X-ray and scanning machines have not been installed. The intensive care unit too lacks necessary facilities. Not just cases of serious nature or emergency cases, but mere accident cases also are referred to Bangalore.
Pregnant ladies from six taluks in the district keep visiting the hospital. As the hospital has only one gynaecologist, she is forced to attends to outdoor patients as well as in door patients. At times, she also has to don the role of a general physician. “We have demanded appointment of additional gynaecologists. But so far, it has fallen on the deaf ears,” said a senior doctor to Deccan Herald.
One for all
Other departments also lack specialists. A single doctor looks into all the problems of a patient. For the last several months, appointments have not taken place.
Since there is only one doctor looking after the requirements of all the doctors, there is a mad rush of the patients and long queues are found in front of some of the sections.
Union Minister for Law M Veerappa Moily, Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission S R Nayak and others have visited the hospital and inspected the problems.
S R Nayak had urged the Government to take action, stating that, “the district hospital in Chikkaballapur was functioning in violation of human rights. The patients were not getting proper treatment. Their problems need to be addressed immediately.”
Several months have passed, but there is no improvement.
Most of the patients tell they are not well off enough to go to Bangalore for additional treatment. “We are not in a position to spend thousands of rupees. Hence, whatever is available at the government district hospital, we are trying to avail by it,” they said.
