Photo: Acute shortage of doctors results in long waits at hospital.
Amritsar: The Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital, with an average of 300 child deliveries every month, is managing with only three gynaecologists against the requirement of five.
In the absence of the required manpower, the patients have to wait for long and the workload on the doctors has also increased. Apart from conducting C-Section and normal deliveries, the gynaecologists also have to attend the patients at the Out Patient Department.
Sources at the hospital said over 200 pregnant women turn up at the hospital every day for a medical check-up.
“With one doctor in the operating theatre, the other two have to attend 100 patients each. Two days ago, the entire work was done by one doctor only. Besides, doctors have to attend patients admitted in wards and on call emergency duties,” said a hospital employee.
The hospital has been facing a shortage of gynaecologists for the past many months. Recently, the hospital was joined by two doctors who had completed senior residency from the medical college. However, as doctors going for senior residency and joining back is a routine circle, it did not make a difference.
The hospital authorities said the number of patients at the hospital had increased manifold as the government had initiated a large number of schemes to promote institutional deliveries.
Senior Medical Officer Charanjit Singh said, “We have also started a free-transportation service for poor women after the deliveries. Such facilities, including the monetary award for women preferring institutional deliveries, has increased the influx of patients.”
He said a gynaecologist from the ESI had been temporarily assigned the duty at the Civil Hospital and hopefully, it would make things easier for patients and other staff members.
