SILCHAR, July 24 - The Satindra Mohan Dev Civil Hospital in Silchar is one of the oldest civil hospitals of the State. It serves as a first referral health unit in emergency cases for the people of Silchar and its outskirts. However, in stark contrast to the promises made by the Government to improve the condition of health services in the State, the condition of this Government-run hospital presents a sorry picture.
According to Dr Ashutosh Barman, Superintendent of the civil hospital, there is an acute shortage of doctors. As many as five departments, including the departments of Surgery, Medicine and Radiology, are without adequate doctors. The Sonography unit, too, has no attending doctors. The Out Patients Department is also in a sorry state, Dr Barman added.
�On an average, about 400 patients visit the hospital every day for which we need at least 25 doctors. But we have to manage the affairs with only 13 physicians as of now,� he pointed out. Most patients who come here are from poor families. Due to the staff shortage, the patients are facing great inconvenience, the civil hospital superintendent said.
Dr Barman said that some doctors, who were appointed in the rural health centres, had been rendering service in the hospital on attachment basis. �But as the State Government came up with a new ruling withdrawing the attachment services and asked the doctors to work in their respective health centres alone, we are faced with the present crisis,� he said, adding that Dr Gautam Deb and Dr Mehboob Alam, who were in charge of the Department of Radiology, are now being transferred. Therefore, the Radiology Department may be shut down. �I am pursuing the matter with the Joint Director of Health Services and efforts are being made to bring back Dr Gautam Deb at the earliest, which will resolve the crisis a bit,� Dr Barman said.
On the other hand, Dr SJ Das, the Joint Director of Health Services, Cachar, has said that besides the shortage of staff in the civil hospital, the health centres in the rural parts of the district are also facing a lot of problems.
�In his recent visit, the Mission Director of the National Health Mission asked us to send demands of doctors required in the hospital and health centres. We need at least five more doctors in the civil hospital and regular doctors at the Jelalpore Block PHC and the Chibitabichia Model Hospital in Tapang for which we will send demands soon,� the Joint Director stated.
Meanwhile, Cachar Deputy Commissioner S Vishwanthan has said that �steps will be taken to overcome the staff shortage. The hospital superintendent has been directed to ensure that no patient faces harassment.�
