Anantnag: The decision of the Government Medical Ccllege (GMC) Anantnag to close down two laboratories at the space starved maternity and child (MCH) hospital in this southern district has left both the doctors and patients surprised with both maintaining that the move will add to the already messy healthcare in the hospital.
Declared unsafe few years ago by the fire and emergency services department in its safe audit report, the hospital faces a severe space crunch agonizing not only the patients but staff as well.
The most overcrowded hospital after Lal Ded, the facility two years ago was brought under the control of GMC Anantnag raising hopes among the people about improvement in healthcare.
However, the mismanagement by the GMC authorities has only furthered the mess.
The hospital has two old dilapidated buildings with no ventilation. One building houses both maternity and pediatric OPD and laboratory for OPD patients on ground floor and SNCU and laboratory for admitted babies while as the other building houses the ward block , operation theatre and laboratory for the pregnant women admitted in labor or post operative wards.
However, to centralise the laboratory, the GMC authorities a couple of days ago shut down both the OPD and SNCU labs and shifted the same to the one in cramped ward block, leaving both doctors and patients stunned.
“Laboratory in ward block is functioning in a small room outside the operation theatre but the authorities have declared it as the central laboratory and have closed down other two laboratories. The small waiting room outside OT is always overcrowded with attendants and setting up the central laboratory there will severely mess up the things further. One wonders how this decision is going to give relief to the patients,” said a doctor posted in the hospital.
Though both the doctors and para-medics opposed the centralization of the laboratory in space starved hospital but GMC top authorities did not give heed to the suggestions of doctors posted at the facility.
“The central laboratory serves the purpose and gives relief to the patients when you have huge spacious building housing all the facilities like ward block, OPD and SNCU in different floors. How come a baby who is admitted in SNCU one building can to taken to the cramped ward block for evaluation. This authoritarian decision is only going to agonise both the babies, mothers and pregnant women,” said a para-medic posted on the hospital.
He said the ward block remains inaccessible for everyone till doctors finish the round of all wards.
“The doctors finish examining the admitted patients in post operative wards by 1 pm and till then the hospital security does not allow anyone to get in. Even the attendants of the women in wards are made to wait outside. So one wonders how come the pregnant women and the babies advised to go for evaluation by doctors in OPD wait for hours to get the tests done,” the para-medic said.
When contacted, HOD of pediatrics, Dr Shiekh Mushtaq said this was done by the Principal and Medical Superintendent and not by him.
“Setting up the central lab was good so that it could function round the clock. But that needs a lot of space but this hospital is starving for space,” Mushtaq said.
GMC Principal did not respond to repeated calls from this reporter.
