UNPLEASANT SURPRISE: When hospital staff strike work as they did recently at Government Stanley Hospital, work pretty much comes to a standstill.

CHENNAI: All is not well with the government hospitals, at least those in the city, going by the daily experience of people seeking treatment.

When staff go on strike to protest disciplinary action, work is hit and patients suffer.

Last week, 300 sanitation staff of Government Stanley Hospital in Mint struck work for several hours until they could present their demands to the dean. They were aggrieved by the disciplinary action taken by the hospital authorities.

Though hospital staff say work was not affected, patients say this was not true.

Delayed treatment

In another instance, an elderly man who was brought to the Government General Hospital late at night with a head injury had to wait several hours for treatment. Over the past several months, the GGH has suffered a severe shortage of doctors, particularly in the casualty ward, say senior doctors. The improved facilities and immense visibility owing to media attention have brought in more patients.

Almost all government hospitals in the city and suburbs refer seriously ill patients to the GGH for treatment, doctors say.

Senior doctors say the norm of appointing three chief medical officers for the GGH was introduced in the early 1990s.

When a chief medical officer is not around, the doctor on duty has to step in.

Thus, the duty doctor sometimes works more than 24 hours without rest.

Also, the officers on deputation may be from unrelated departments such as anatomy or venereal diseases.

While the GGH suffers acute shortage of senior medical staff, other referral centres continue to operate with six or seven CMOs though their workload is not as heavy, the doctors point out.

With the increased patient turnover, the hospital needs at least seven CMOs, senior doctors say.

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