The scene of dozens of patients receiving treatment on the floor speaks volumes of the poor infrastructure at the Krishna District Government Hospital, which covers the Machilipatnam, Pedana, Avanigadda and Pamarru Assembly constituencies. The daily out-patient number touches 1,200 a day but the hospital does not have sufficient number of doctors in many key departments including gynaecology for several years despite an outcry by the civic society and political parties. The plan drawn by Hospital Development Committee chaired by Collector B. Lakshmikantam to provide an additional 100 beds has met with stiff resistance from the doctors.
"We have been running the gynaecology wing with three doctors as against the required six for the past five years," he said.
Med College remains on paper
Law Minister Kollu Ravindra and other political leaders earlier announced that the State government was planning to start a medical college at the hospital. However, it remains as a poll promise. From medical equipment, ambulance services to additional bed facility, every aspect needs to be developed to ensure standard medical and health services. "The hospital does not meet the criteria to start a medical college," said Machilipatnam-based lawyer Lankisetti Balaji.
For the coastal communities of Machilipatnam, the next major government hospital is in Vijayawada, 60 km away.