Just imagine a situation of a hospital where more patients get admitted than discharged. Certainly it would be lead to a chaotic situation with the hospital running out of space, doctors and medical staff overworked.
This is exactly what’s happening at the Cottage Hospital at Chicalim where hundreds of patients have been arriving every day. Many of them need admission, but there are not enough beds to accommodate these patients. Still the hospital authorities are not refusing admission to anyone and the show goes on in similar manner every day, leaving doctors and staffs exhausted.
Officially the existing Chicalim Cottage Hospital is a 30-bed hospital but since OPDs are flooded with patients, majority of them complaining of fever, the hospital authorities today have used all possible corners and open area of the hospital including corridors to increase the number of beds to 40; still there is a shortfall of beds. To handle the rush of patients, the hospital authorities are now using corridors to accommodate patients; some patients are getting stretchers, benches as their bed in the hospital. Almost all possible corners of the hospital is today having patients.
“There a paucity of beds here still we are not denying admissions to needy. Whosoever is coming is being admitted by making arrangements. Sometimes after noticing little improvement into patients, we even advise them to take discharge so that other needy patients in waiting can be accommodated on beds. This is how we are running since last few months and our issues would solve only after the new hospital building which was supposed to be inaugurated and operational early this year becomes operational,” a nursing staff told Herald.
Presently one can easily witness overcrowding inside the hospital throughout the day with the doctors and medical staff overworked. Doctors and staffs are overburdened because of the shortage of medical staff. “We have shortage of doctors and staffs here and we are not aware whether the appointment of staffs and doctors are made or not. If administration had made appointments then at least the new staff would have helped us to cater to the people visiting the hospital. Sometimes it becomes difficult to manage such a huge patient footfall,” an official from Cottage hospital said.
The hospital is registering between 350 and 450 patients per day with majority of the patients having symptoms of the mosquito-borne disease. “Every five out of 100 patients need admission and thus every day at least 10 to 15 new patients have to be accommodated here which is impossible and hence the situation becomes chaotic here. You have to literary struggle to manage such situation,” said senior official under condition of anonymity.
Moreover the sudden increase in patients visiting and seeking admission at Cottage Hospital is due to increase in mosquito-borne diseases in Mormugao Taluka. Officially the Urban Health Centre records shows that they received details of 45 suspected dengue cases in Mormugao Taluka, while the number of suspected dengue cases is much higher than the official records and due to communication gap between health officials and private doctors/labs the same is not getting recorded officially.
At present about five patients, including two suspected dengue and three patients with malaria besides few others with viral fever, are undergoing treatment at this hospital. Since there is no separate ward to treat patients with suspected dengue or other mosquito-borne diseases, even other patients suffering from different ailments are now sharing the same room and this has increased scare among the patients who are not suffering from any mosquitoes borne diseases but are now prone to get affected.
“With broken window panes and crumbling doors, the situation at Chicalim Cottage Hospital is not less than of a zone prone to create disease scare. Ironically the patients that are admitted to get themselves cured from diseases like malaria, dengue are bitten by mosquitoes who have open invitation though the broken windows and the other patients here are now scared that these mosquitoes can be a carrier for the disease and can put their life to risk,” a staff nurse told Herald.
Now all eyes are on the completion of the new Sub District hospital building which is in the final stage. Sources in the health department said that though hospital building work is almost completed other necessary arrangements for this new hospital facility like staff, doctor’s recruitment, medical equipments, other required machineries, and furniture is yet to be procured.
Whether the Health Minister Vishwajit Rane would come to the rescue of people from Mormugao Taluka and would initiate some measures to ensure that the new facility becomes operational soon or not, only time will tell, but certainly situation at the existing health facility needs immediate attention.
