Even as the team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) is expected to visit the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) anytime during this week, the condition of the GDMC hospital continues to be pathetic. Most of the diagnostic machines like digital X -ray and Computer Assisted Tomography (CT) scan have gone awry. Similarly a life saving apparatus like Dialysis machine is not functional from last few days. If these problems were not enough for the patients, the shelves of the medicine counter of the biggest government hospital in the state are empty. The hospital administration admits that it has only 100 odd types of the medicines available out of the list of 208 essential medicines.
The Absence of Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV) in the Government Doon Medical College hospital is creating problems to the patients of animal bite.
More than 125 patients visit the hospital per day for the vaccine needed for animal bite cases from different parts of the state. In absence of the vaccine they had to get the life saving vaccine injected from private hospitals. The ARV is administered intra dermal or intra muscular four times in a fixed schedule on an animal bite victim. The vaccine is injected on 0, 3, 7 and 28 day of the animal bite. The vaccine is injected free of cost in the government hospitals where there is facility of cold storage.
In the radiology department of the hospital, the patients are continuing to face problem as the lone CT scan of the hospital has not become operational after it developed malfunctioning in last week of February. This machine has become so obsolete that the college has decided not to repair it now and purchase a new machine instead. More than 40 CT scans are done in the hospital and in absence of this facility the patients are forced to visit expensive private hospitals and diagnostic centres to get the CT done. Apart from the CT scan, the digital X- ray machine of the hospital is also playing truant.
The female wing of the hospital is also plagued by many problems. The Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) ward of the hospital is devoid of ventilators.
One of the staff members said, “I am working in this hospital from last many years and I can tell without hesitation that the hospital was never in such a bad condition as it is today. The machines are out of order and the medicines are not available. The MCI team would surly note down these discrepancies and mention it in its report.’’
When contacted the principal of the GDMCV, Dr Ashutosh Sayana accepted that some machines are not working. He added that most of the machines like CT scan, X ray, dialysis machine and others have become very old.
“Most of these machines are more than ten years old and need replacement. We have decided not to repair the old CT scan machine and instead purchase a high resolution new machine. However for benefit of patients with kidney ailments we have decided to repair the dialysis machine immediately,’’ he said.
The Principal further said that he has asked all the departments to make a list of the equipment which is needed to be replaced.
“Based on the requirement, three categories, most urgent, urgent and routine requirement would be made and the purchase would be made accordingly,’’ Dr Sayana quipped.
Meanwhile, the hospital administration is waiting for the arrival of the team of Medical Council of India ( MCI) for the crucial letter of permission ( LoP) for the fourth batch of the MBBS course. It is expected that the team of the apex body of medical education can arrive any time. On the report submitted by the MCI, the ministry of medical, health and family planning would grant permission to the medical college to grant admission to the students for MBSS course.
On the preparations of the college for the MCI visit, Dr Sayana claimed that the college is fully geared up for the MCI visit. He added that the staff deficiency which earlier was at more than 30 per cent has been reduced to less than 20 per cent which is well within the MCI norms.
