Posted On Friday, March 30, 2012 at 03:25:21 AM
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| Only 90 patients were admitted to Civil on Thursday as against 148 before the strike began |
The strike called by Gujarat Medical teachers’ Association entered the eighth day on Thursday. However, authorities at Civil Hospital claim that the strike has in no way inconvenienced the patients. But the figures related to number of admissions to and discharge from the hospital tell a different story.
As per the figures, before March 22 (when the strike began), 148 patients were admitted to the hospital. However, since the strike has begun, the number of patients admitted to Civil Hospital has taken a nose dive. On March 29, only 90 patients were admitted to the hospital.
In a sharp contrast to admissions, the number of patients who took discharge against medical advice (DAMA) has gone up. On March 22, only 17 patients had taken DAMA. But on March 28, the number of DAMA doubled to 34. During the duration of strike, the number of DAMA has spiked up to 152.
“The teachers are on strike. But we haven’t allowed that to affect the functioning of the hospital. All the emergency operations are taking place. Patients aren’t inconvenienced,” said a source at Civil.
Amraiwadi resident Dahyabhai Parmar had brought his sister to the hospital to get her fractured leg treated. Her surgery was slotted for March 27. However, the operation didn’t take place. Now, Dahyabhai has taken a DAMA and taken his sister to another hospital.
In another case, Ajitsinh Pal had brought his wife, suffering from stomach ailment, to the hospital on March 21. However, the doctors’ strike made him think twice. Now, he has taken her to a private hospital in Maninagar.
Despite the claims made by the officials, number of major operations has gone down between March 14 and 21. On a usual day, hospital registers 130 deliveries. However, during the period of strike only 34 deliveries have taken place. Even the number of major operations have gone down from 493 before strike to 92.
Civil Hospital Superintendent M M Prabhakar said, “Now, if medical teachers go on strike, it is going to affect the functioning of the hospital in some ways. But we have in no way let the patients feel inconvenienced. We are trying our best to make them feel comfortable.”
Elaborating on the steps taken by Civil Hospital, Prabhakar said, “Currently, 500 junior doctors are working in the hospital, serving the patients. Also, there are 31 Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) working round the clock to make up for the shortage of doctors. We have also prioritised the operations and dealt with the most urgent ones. No one has been turned away due to shortage of doctors.” |
