The decision of the state health department to shift excess patients from the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital to other government hospitals located in different parts of the city sounds good but experts dub it highly impractical. In what is more of a knee jerk reaction than a planned approach, the medical health and family welfare secretary Nitesh Jha took a meeting of senior officials of department and GDMC and announced a slew of measures. In one such decision, it was pronounced that only limited patients would be admitted in the GDMC hospital and excess patients would be sent to other government hospitals like Gandhi Centenary Eye Hospital ( GCEH), Community Health Centre (CHC) Doiwala, Raipur and Premnagar. These excess patients would be ferried by ambulances from GDMC hospital. One senior doctor of the hospital pointed out that all facilities of gynaecology like round the clock Operation Theatre (OT), labour room and radiologist are available in the GCEH but in other government hospitals of Dehradun these facilities are lacking. “ The patients come from different parts to GDMC because of facilities. Had such facilities were available in nearby places, the patients would not have come the GDMC hospital in first place. Further, we cannot force patients to go to other hospitals,’’ he said. In the female wing of the GDMC there are only 60 beds and as per the new directive, the hospital would not admit patients in excess of this number. The medical experts are of the view that refusal of patients by the biggest hospital of the state would create problems to poor patients and the actual beneficiaries would be the private health centres and hospitals.
In another decision bound to raise controversy and ethical issues, it was decided that the patients of Uttarakhand would be given preference in admission and patients coming from Uttar Pradesh ( UP) and Himachal Pradesh would be admitted only in serious cases. “In medical profession we cannot make distinction between the patients and how would someone who has come all the way along from a faraway place be asked to leave as he does not belongs to the state? It is true that large number of patients from neighbouring state visit the GDMC Hospital daily which affect the quality of service but refusing patients is not possible,’’ quipped one doctor.
In an attempt to control unnecessary visits of attendants of patients the hospital administration also decided to enforce pass system. This decision along with verdict that all admitted patients and staff members would have to wear a designated uniform are being appreciated by staff members and experts.
