Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

TB Hospital employees petition human rights commission

Staff Reporter

Complain about lack of basic facilities in hospital

PATIENT HEARING: State Human Rights Commission member S. Verghese visiting patients in a ward of Chest Diseases Hospital at Pulayanarkotta on Monday. Photo: S. Gopakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lack of infrastructure, inadequate number of staff and neglect by the health administration regarding proper maintenance and upkeep has made the Chest Diseases Hospital at Pulayanarkotta a place where doctors and nurses are sent on `punishment postings'.

The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) member S. Verghese, who visited the hospital on Monday, was greeted with a barrage of complaints by the hospital staff regarding lack of basic facilities.

A number of people from the neighbourhood also turned up to complain about the hospital's ill-kept surroundings and the open room where bodies of destitute patients are sometimes kept for over 72 hours, emanating stench.

The nursing staff of the hospital submitted a separate petition to the SHRC, detailing the constraints in the hospital that were affecting their work and administration of patient care.

The 22-acre campus of the hospital does not have a compound wall or gate and is covered in shrubbery and overgrowth. Snakes and rodents often find their way to the wards. Power failures are frequent, but there are no back-up generators or even emergency lamps.

The women staff complained that they did not have adequate security on the campus.

Several wards were located so far away on the campus that the staff found it difficult to reach these places at night. The hospital does not have an electrician on call and the electrical wing at the Medical College refused to service the hospital because they did not have vehicles.

There is only a single phone in the Superintendent's room and in the absence of even an intercom facility, the staff found it very difficult to coordinate and manage response to emergencies.

The hospital does not even have adequate bed linen. There are no doctors doing stay duty at night, while nursing staff worked on a 14-hour shift. The hospital does not have a launderer or cook and the cleaning staff are deputed this additional work.

The only ambulance in the hospital does not have a driver round the clock. Lack of residential quarters, insufficient transport facility to Pulayanarkotta, absence of centralised oxygen supply and suction facilities were pointed out as the other inadequacies.

The SHRC member pointed out that while the sanctioned staff strength was adequate, the vacancies were not being filled and doctors were not interested in working in this institution. The SHRC will notify the Government about this situation and follow up the action taken. Mr. Verghese also asked the hospital authorities to utilise funds of the hospital development society for the time being to appoint new staff.

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