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| Chib’s prescription a placebo, not medicine | | |
Sant Kumar Sharma
JAMMU, September 9:
The Medical Education Minister, Mr R S Chib, wants a robust patient care system in the local Government Medical College & Hospital. He made it clear to the medical fraternity that he does not want the GMC to ``look like a railway platform as it appears now’’.
Mr Chib’s unkind words were directed at the multitude of attendants that throng the hospital premises. He said he wanted fewer (very few) attendants with patients undergoing treatment at the hospital.
``Too many attendants with the patients stretch the facilities at the hospital. It leads to dirty bathrooms, overcrowding and unhygienic conditions. The hospital staff tries to deal with this situation bravely, it has a deleterious effect on the patient care,’’ he said while talking to reporters.
The Minister was visiting the hospital to inaugurate a portable ultrasound machine in the intensive care unit (ICU) section. The machine, worth about Rs 3 lakh, was donated to the hospital by a local trader dealing in medicine and medical equipment.
The Principal, Professor Rajinder Singh, explained that the portable machine will help the ICU patients as they will not have to be taken outside the ward for routine ultrasound investigations.
He said some philanthropic people have donated goods like air-conditioners, water coolers, chairs etc worth over Rs 10 lakh to the hospital. He expressed his gratitude to the donors and urged others to follow suit.
Mr Chib sought the help of the media to spread awareness among masses that patient care suffered when too many attendants accompanied patients. He obviously was thinking in terms of the facilities available at military hospitals where virtually no attendants are allowed to accompany the patient.
Senior GMC doctors like Dara Singh, Tariq Azad, Rakesh Khajuria and Ramesh Gupta heard him attentively. They kept quiet as Mr Chib orally delivered his prescription for the betterment of the hospital.
Some reporters, however, tried to take on Mr Chib by asking pointed questions regarding a non-functional dialysis machine, inadequate staff and other related issues. The Minister answered the questions patiently and promised to set things right.
He promised to allow recruitment of staff (against sanctioned posts lying vacant) at the local level in an attempt to cut through the red tape. This was unlikely to happen as codal norms regarding recruitment have to be fulfilled.
``Making oral statements is different from issuing effective written orders. Let us see when we get written orders from the Civil Secretariat to go ahead with the recruitments,’’ a senior doctor said.
Most faculty members and other senior staff said Mr Chib’s intentions were good but expressed their doubts about their efficacy. ``How do you recruit 250 paramedical staff without following the due process? For how long can you engage such a large number of staff even if you do get the necessary written permissions?’’ one of them asked.
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