Kerala   

Shortage of doctors at tribal hospital

PALAKKAD: A 100-bed tribal super-specialty hospital, inaugurated with great fanfare in August last at Kottathara in the Attappady Hills, is now facing a severe shortage of doctors, para-medical staff and vital equipment such as X-ray, scanning machine, blood bank, etc.

Prabhudas, medical officer, said the hospital was not being allotted the required funds for furniture, medicines, milk, etc., for poor tribal patients. A sum Rs.10 lakh was pending on this account. Currently, the hospital has only two doctors, three nurses, four nursing assistants, four attenders and one lab technician. Though an ambulance has been provided, no driver has been appointed yet. There is no pharmacist and the work is done by nurses. As 90 per cent of the patients are tribal folk, 10 trained nursing assistants from the tribal community were appointed to assist the patients and communicate with them. However, since March this year, their services were discontinued for want of funds.

Dr. Prabhudas said the operation theatre was closed as there was no surgeon or anaesthetist. Patients from this tribal heartland now have to travel to the Palakkad District Hospital, 70 km. away, or the Thrissur Medical College, not only for surgery but even X-ray or scanning.

About 10 per cent of the tribal folk in Attappady are afflicted with sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder. Patients with sickle cell disease require urgent blood transfusion. Though there is a blood bank in the hospital, there is no technician to manage it. Every month, 150 to 200 patients requiring blood transfusion are referred to the District Hospital.

However, District Medical Officer P.R. Karunakaran said appointments were made on contract basis to solve the shortage of doctors and para-medical staff in the Tribal Super Specialty Hospital. Regional Programme Manager of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) T.K. Kuttamani said medicines were being made available to the hospital through the new corporation set up by the government.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Next issue
Flying colours
Tackle core issues to deal with terrorism
Create a special team to tackle terrorism
Aryadan blames LDF government
CZM norms to fishermen: Sarma
All roads lead to Punnamada
A day to remember
Celebrating old age
Hiroshima Day
Enviable record for Crime Branch
A burden of sorts
CAMPUS NOTES
AIYF campaign against nuclear deal
Savings scheme agents’ meet
Seminar on politics of educational reforms
School cooks’ federation plea
Irked by the road
Record profit for Plantation Corporation
Road work on track at Sabarimala
Shortage of doctors at tribal hospital
Plan to increase paddy farming

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu