Tamil Nadu - Dharmapuri   

Shortage of doctors ails Dharmapuri GH

By S. Prasad

DHARMAPURI, JUNE 9. The Dharmapuri district headquarters General Hospital is equipped with the best of infrastructure but not enough doctors. This 438-bed hospital has 38 doctors including an anaesthetist and an orthopaedic surgeon to attend nearly 1,000 out-patients and 350 in-patients daily.

However, a senior doctor says there must be a doctor per ten beds according to the World Health Organisation norms. At the Dharmapurai GH, which should have 43 doctors on its rolls, many cases are put on hold. "Due to inadequate number of anaesthetists and orthopaedic surgeons, the hospital is unable to provide immediate care to the overflowing accident cases,'' according to sources at the Health Department.

Worse, though the hospital has a full-fledged maternity ward it does not have an anaesthetist for caesarean cases. The authorities have been forced to bring in private practitioners to attend caesareans. As a result the hospital has turned out to be a first-aid and referral centre with most of the cases being referred to Salem or Bangalore.

According to a doctor at the GH, "All road accidents are admitted here for the purpose of registering the cases. After making the entries most of the cases are referred to Salem or Bangalore. The hospital does not also have specialists in ENT, Psychiatry and Urology, he adds.

The Joint Director of Health, B.T. Subramaniam says, "The doctor with the Psychiatry department has been transferred. So the post has remained vacant."

To add to the problems, the trauma care ward is partially occupied by the Obstetrics and Gynaecology ward. This overlapping is due to "lack of maintenance'' of the original space allotted to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology ward, explains Subramaniam. Lack of a proper pay and use toilet has led to unsanitary conditions also. Corrupt staff just adds to the woes.

Kala, from Pennagaram who had been admitted for delivery, says, "On giving birth to my child the staff demanded Rs. 300 to shift me to the general ward." Kala had to pay up as she says she couldn't afford a private hospital.

However, Mr. Subramaniam says so far he hasn't received any such complaints.

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