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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Disaster care? God forbid by Sumi Sukanya

Disaster care? God forbid by Sumi Sukanya

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published Published on Jul 14, 2011   modified Modified on Jul 14, 2011
The Mumbai blasts have again brought into focus the health infrastructure in Bihar, especially the state capital, and raised questions on whether the city is equipped to deal with emergency situations.

The intensive care unit (ICU) at Patna Medical College and Hospital — the premier tertiary care centre in the state — itself needs emergency treatment owing to the poor condition of infrastructure and logistics. Most of its equipment are defunct and patients are often left to the mercy of God.

“I shudder to think what will happen if, god forbid, there is a bomb blast or any other such exigency. Emergency care in the state is not even fit to treat routine patients. One can well imagine what would happen if we suddenly need to provide urgent medical care to a large number of patients. We will not even be able to provide basic facilities such as blood, oxygen cylinders, diagnostic tests etc. We do not have the required number of medical and para-medical staff either — the basic requirements for such a tragic situation,” a senior doctor at PMCH told The Telegraph under cover of anonymity.

Doctors working in the hospital said there is no disaster management cell, a must for a catastrophic situation. “Ideally, there should be a team of properly trained doctors and support staff as even expert first aid is very crucial during an emergency situation. But that is asking too much in case of PMCH,” said a junior doctor on duty at the emergency ward.

He said the 15-bed ICU facility in the emergency ward is hardly the right place to wheel in critically ill patients.

“Of the 20 monitors installed in the ICU, only seven are operational. Just four out of 17 infusion pumps function, while one ventilator out of six can be used. The blood pressure cuff attached to the beds does not work either. The centralised monitoring system, where details of all patients can be seen at one go, is non-functional for years. There are no functioning ultra-sound machines, no portable X-Ray machines,” he said.

Shockingly, there are no air-conditioned rooms for burn injury patients. “In case of explosions, accidents etc people need emergency burn care. At PMCH, the facility provided for such patients is so pathetic that it is beyond imagination that people will get any benefit there,” said Ram Avtar Verma, whose daughter is admitted in PMCH for plastic surgery.

According to sources, the acute shortage of logistics and willing, trained manpower are the biggest problems. “Our healthcare system is so poor primarily because the state government lacks vision and its ministers and bureaucrats only believe in delivering lectures and sermons. There is absolutely no planning or arrangement for bettering the existing system,” said another doctor at the centre.

The situation is no better at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) — another premier health institution in the capital. As with PMCH, the 36-bed emergency ward here is also gasping for survival.

The hospital administration though claims it can manage emergency situations. “Why not?” asked NMCH superintendent Dr Shivkumari Prasad. “We can manage extra beds, extra doctors and other support staff if the situation so arises. We will handle extreme emergency situations.”

Experts, however, beg to differ. “I do not think even private hospitals in the city are in a position to take the extra burden of emergency patients in case of a disaster. For example, burn injury patients need complete antiseptic and hygienic conditions. No hospital in the city, government or private, can admit a high number of such patients in case of a catastrophe. We seriously lack quality emergency healthcare,” said Dr Diwakar Tejaswi, a renowned physician.

The Telegraph, 15 July, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110715/jsp/bihar/story_14240304.jsp


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