Shortage of doctors, staff hits functioning of Rajindra Hospital super-speciality ward

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 16

The super-speciality branch of the Government Rajindra Hospital is not fully functional due to a shortage of doctors even after one year of its inauguration.

Not even a single operation theatre (OT) is fully functional at the super-speciality ward of the hospital. Reportedly, only three super-specialist doctors had joined the hospital in the past 15 months. Of the three, a neurosurgeon has already left the hospital allegedly due to lack of proper infrastructure.

Sources said the Medical Education Department could not find any super-specialist doctor willing to join the ward. Meanwhile, experts blamed the paucity of technical staff and insufficient salary for doctors not joining the department.

Currently, there are no super specialists in the departments of neurology, cardiology, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, gastroenterology, endocrinology, nephrology and oncology. The state government has recruited a cardiologist for the hospital. However, he has not joined yet.

A senior doctor of the Government Rajindra Hospital, on the condition of anonymity, said: “There is lack of political will to start the super-speciality ward for providing poor patients with tertiary care.”

If the super-speciality ward gets fully operational, it would affect big private hospitals in the region, the sources added.

Dr Rajan Singla, principal, GMC, said: “Operation theatres of some of the departments are being sanitised and they will start in the coming days. The remaining departments will start as soon as we get super-specialist doctors.”