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| Patients at SKIMS have to wait for diagnostic tests months together | | 12,860 patients died at Institute during five years: CAG report | | Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, Oct 22: At a time when tremendous emphasis is laid on improvement of health services across the country the patients at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura have to wait for more than one year for carrying out a simple test at the lone tertiary care hospital of the state.
In its report for the year ending March 31, 2012, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has said that the patients admitted at SKIMS-Soura had to wait for surgeries from one month to 12 months and for diagnostic tests/investigations for the period ranging between 10 days to 524 days.
The CAG report said that the number of patients who attended the Out Patient Department (OPD) of 32 clinical departments including super specialty centres has steadily risen by 28 percent from 5,16,860 in 2007-08 to 6,60,482 in 2011-12 though there was a significant dip in 2010-11.
"The Institute has not carried out any study of the patient profile to ascertain whether this rising trend indicated any deficiency on the part of the primary health care service providers leading to indiscriminate rush at the Institute's OPD. The tertiary character of the Institute was thus getting diluted," said the CAG report.
The CAG report said that out of 2,57,993 patients hospitalized at the Institute 12,860 patients died during the five year tenure of 2007-2012 (up to May 2012). Out of this 7,875 deaths occurred 48 hours after the admission. It said that maximum number of 2,546 deaths took place in Neurosurgery department followed by 2303 deaths in Neurology department.
"The death rate in Neonatology (children ward) was four percent of the total deaths. The Emergency Medicine Department of the Institute had not been fully equipped to deal with cases of road accidents having multiple organ injuries including orthopaedic injuries. Consequently, such patients were shifted to Bone and Joints Hospital, Barzulla-Srinagar. The ambulances meant for patient care had been mis-utilized to the extent of 40 to 47 percent during 2008-12," said the CAG report.
The CAG report said that the procurement system for purchase of equipment and drugs needs to be reviewed and strengthened as there were abnormal delays in invitation of tenders, placing of supply orders and opening of letters of credit leading to locking up of huge funds, delayed or non-procurement of medical equipment.
"The system of drawing of samples of drugs for testing to ensure procurement of quality medicines and drugs is not in vogue in the Institute. Drug Quality Control Laboratory of the Institute had stopped functioning since November 2003 and Rs. 1.40 crores released during 2009-11 to set up an Advanced Quality Assurance Laboratory were lying unspent in a Civil Deposit. Physical verification of drugs and surgical instruments in the Institute had not been conducted since June 2008," said the CAG report.
The CAG report said that no effort was made to open Jan Aushadhi sale outlet in the Institute or procure generic medicines under the Government of India campaign to make available unbranded quality generic medicines at lower prices, though equivalent in potency to branded expensive drugs. |
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