New Delhi, Jan. 29: Most Government hospitals in the country are in a bad state, beset with problems like overcrowding, shortage of staff and drugs, and paucity of funds, according to a UNI survey. Insanitary conditions, premature discharge of patients, heavy strain on the staff and scanty attention to patients are some of the obvious consequences of over-crowding. Some hospitals have to cope with double the number of patients they are equipped for. The result is that even serious cases are at times treated as out-patients. Many hospitals do not have stand-by generators to meet the contingency of power breakdown while operations are in progress. The only alternative source of light some have is petromax. Lack of funds is not the only cause of drugs being in short supply. Pilferage and managerial inefficiency are also among the reasons. Most State Governments have increased their allocations for health care in recent years, but not adequately enough to absorb the rise in the prices of drugs and equipment. Conditions in rural and small town hospitals in States like Bihar are appalling.
The following are brief reports from different centres:
Bombay: Government hospitals in Maharashtra have a total of about 30,500 beds which health authorities admit is inadequate. Officials estimate overcrowding at 10 per cent but hospital authorities place the figure at over 30 per cent.
A doctor in the Out-patient Department (OPD) of the J.J. Group of Hospitals said patients were sometimes hastily discharged to make room for others and an average of about 50 cases meriting admission are turned back daily.
Published – January 30, 2025 04:11 am IST