Staff crunch persists in Bengaluru's Victoria Hospital

BENGALURU:  Despite the Upa Lokayukta, during his surprise visit to Victoria Hospital in early April, revealing that the government-run facility faced staff crunch, irregularities in pharmacies and other discrepancies, many of these problems still persist. Hospital authorities said that no new recruitments have been made, tho­ugh they have sent a report to the health department, requesting fresh appo­intments.

Medical Superintendent Dr Ramesh Krishna K had submitted a report to the Lokayukta after the surprise inspection, agreeing that more manpower is needed with rise in patients inflow. The hospital has a daily footfall of around 1,000 patients and pharmacists said that they were being overburdened.

Two pharmacists had been posted on OPD duty because of shortage of staff and a centralised med­icine counter was also opened. Officers have been asked to continue their work for now. Under the Smart City project, five electric buggies were allotted to the hospital, but there is a shortage of two drivers, Dr Krishna told the Lokayukta.

Another administrative offi­cial said the hospital has 322 nursing staff, who ha­­ve to work in nine buildings and 22 departments. The hospital is adding more beds, ICUs, wards and OPDs, but is not recruiting new staff, which is affecting quality of care. Budget constraint could be one of the reasons for freezing hiring, he added.

The present staff stre­ngth was sanctioned 25 ye­ars ago and has not been revised since, officials said.Dr Ravi K, Director-cum-Dean, BMCRI, said the health department was informed about the staff shortage in April, but no action was taken, he added.