No attenders
The hospital staff complained that there was lack of attenders and nurses to take care of the patients in wards, in case of emergencies. There are about 570 in-patients who have come to receive treatment at the hospital today, and there are not enough attenders to take care of them. Each ward has only one attender who cannot single-handedly attend to the needs of all the patients, thus posing a lot of problems to them.
Responding to this, the minister said that he would talk to the Chief Minister regarding this and make arrangements to appoint new staff as early as possible.
Free treatment for poor APL card holders
A member of the hospital staff confided with Mr Khader that few underprivileged families were charged with various fees while being treated, owing to their APL tag. A majority of the families who arrive at the hospital are poor and cannot afford to bear the expenses of X-ray, scanning or CT Scan, which poses a huge problem to them as they cannot receive free treatment, she said, requesting that treatment of patients from poor background be made free of cost, regardless of their status as APL cardholders.
Zilla panchayat member Mamatha Gatty, who was present, also argued that APL cardholders from poor background be provided free treatment without charging them.
The Resident Medical Officer Dr Erappa said that there is only one anaesthesia department while there are four out-patient departments. This is causing lot of difficulty.
Principal Secretary of State Health Department M Madan Gopal said that every treatment was to be provided free of cost for BPL and APL families as per government schemes.
During the meeting, it was brought to the notice of the Minister that a patient in the hospital was asked to bear the cost of medicines worth Rs 35,000, who eventually died due to the disease. Mr Khader instructed the hospital authorities to reimburse the amount to the patient's family. “If required medicines are not available in the hospital, provide alternate arrangements and reimburse the amount. In cases of medical negligence by hospital staff, a comprehensive report should be compiled and sent to the health department,” he instructed the officials.
The Minister also raised questions on the facility of a psychiatric ward in the hospital and instructed the hospital administration to set up a separate psychiatric ward which would ensure systematic functioning.
He also instructed to increase the number of ventilators in the emergency ward from five to 15.
Malaria and dengue
With regard to the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue in the district, Mr Madan Gopal said that anti-vector-borne diseases measures had to be strongly implemented from August to prevent malaria and dengue from spreading during September and October.
Mr Khader said that the most affected by the diseases were the building workers. Let the builders' association (CREDAI) conduct awareness campaigns and workshops for workers to create awareness among them on malaria and dengue.
Cancer patients
Another staff member of the hospital made a plea to the minister that suitable arrangements should be made to provide chemotherapy to cancer patients as Wenlock did not have necessary facilities.
Stating that a sum of Rs 10.3 crore had been sanctioned for the cause, Mr Khader said that a ward would be provided in Lady Goschen hospital to provide chemotherapy to cancer patients.
He said that the hospital should aim to become a model hospital, and that the health care services in the state should be improved to become a role model to the other states.
“Your service should be the best service. Medicines should be provided to patients free of cost and patients need to be treated with care, so that the hospital would become a people-friendly and approachable establishment,” he said.
He also assured the staff nurses that he would provide justice to those who were working for lesser salaries than other hospitals.
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