402 of 585 posts at Bowring Hospital not filled

The city’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College and Research Institution (previously Bowring & Lady Curzon Hospital) has provisions to hire 104 permanent doctors, but has no such doctors now.

A staggering 402 of 585 sanctioned posts here are waiting to be filled, according to the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA). Executive chairman Justice B Veerappa and other senior officers went on a surprise inspection of the hospital on October 8. They released a report on Tuesday.

Hospital officials informed them that only 183 of 585 vacancies had been filled. Only 50 of 750 beds in the hospital were occupied at the time of inspection.

Jaishankar, member-secretary of the authority, says, “Because of a series of holidays around that time, the hospital may have avoided admitting patients.”

A faculty at the medical college told DH, “The fourth batch of MBBS students will graduate from the college this year. But there are no permanent teaching staff, as required under the NMC guidelines. There is a shortage of doctors treating patients in the hospital as well.”

The KSLSA report says that at the general ward (surgery), the patients’ toilet had no door, and mattresses were unclean and damaged. Though the ward had a board saying it was under CCTV surveillance, the team found no cameras.

Some equipment in the surgery OPD was broken. The pharmacy lacked dustbins and waste material was strewn on the ground, the report observes.

The inspection team suspects the hospital’s complaint box was manipulated. “It didn’t have a lock and the complaints could be removed from an opening,” says Jaishankar.

Dr Manoj Kumar, director of Bowring Hospital, told DH its services had not been hampered as contract employees are on duty.

All the doctors here are on contract, and there are 68 permanent nurses, according to him.

The hospital was previously under the Bangalore Medical College and used the services of its doctors.

Permanent posts for 104 doctors were created after Bowring Hospital transitioned to medical college, but all these positions, except four vacant ones, are occupied by doctors on contract, according to Dr Kumar.

“We have called for permanent appointments in 62 of the 104 posts, and we will give appointment orders by the end of this month. The other 42 posts will be filled by February,” he said.

The hospital has 44 junior and senior resident doctors deputed by the Medical Education Department under the compulsory service rule.

Of the 267 nurses’ posts, 68 are permanent positions, and 199 contract.

The permanent posts are filled, and only three temporary posts remain, according to Dr Kumar.

“According to government rules, all 248 positions in Group D are now under contract. These positions are occupied, and the contracts are renewed every two years,” he said.

And at KC General…

KSLSA’s inspection found that K C General Hospital in Malleswaram had poorly maintained wards.

“Bathrooms were not clean, and mattresses were damaged,” says Jaishankar, member-secretary.

Hospital officials informed the team that only 34 of 132 sanctioned posts in Group D staff had been filled, and contractual appointments were made to the remaining 98 posts.