Wanted: pill for hill hospital ills

Darjeeling, July 1: Twenty-three new ambulances were pressed into service across the hills today but surgeons continued to wipe blood off their hands with only spirit in the absence of water in the hospitals of the region.

The Darjeeling district hospital has been without a dedicated 24-hour water supply for years. “Things are fine during the rainy season. But when it is the lean period, the situation is such that surgeons have to wipe their hands with only spirits as at times there is no water even to wash their hands after operations,” said Subir Bhowmick, the chief medi-cal officer of health, Darjeeling.

“We need about 60,000 litres of water daily. During the lean season, we get water for only about two to two-and-a-half hours every day. Ideally, there should be continuous supply for seven hours if not 12,” said Ranajit Ghosh, the superintendent of the Darjeeling district hospital.

Tamal Das, the subdivisional officer and chairperson of the board of administrators of the Darjeeling municipality, claimed the civic body was doing its part of the job. “A fortnight back, I had sent our engineers to look into the matter. They have given the hospital a connection from a new line, as there were problems with the earlier link. However, the hospital also needs to check their lines for leakage within their complex.”

But in the monsoon, there is a problem of a different kind. Water seeps in through the roof. “Patch works are done continuously but a constant overall maintenance is the need for the district hospital,” said Ghosh.

Although the district hospital was reconstructed in 2003 for Rs 7 crore under the World Bank’s State Health Project, there had been instances in the past of the ceiling falling off supposedly because of monkeys thumping on the terrace. There were also complaints of defunct lifts. Cracks that appeared within a year of reconstruction had been then stubbornly explained by the authorities as a result of expansion.

The hospital, which was said to be expanded to a 500 bed facility under the World Bank scheme, ultimately ended up with 308 beds. “Ideally, a thorough investigation should have been conducted into the construction and the funds utilised,” said a doctor.

Hospitals across the hills are short-staffed with doctors from the plains reluctant to come to the region. “There are around 10 posts of doctors vacant in the district hospital and around 20 across the hills. Plains doctors have a notion that they cannot work in the hills because of language problem and other factors. But this is not true,” said Bhowmick.

The 114 bedded Kurseong hospital and the Kalimpong facility, which has 320 beds, does not have radiologists. There is a lack of radiologists, anaesthetists and surgeons across the hills.

The district hospital, because of funds crunch, has not been able to clear dues of around Rs 1 crore for water-supply (through private trucks), scavenging, supply of food, generator and security — some of the services that have been outsourced to different agencies.

Bhowmick , however, said the Matri Yaan Prakalpa, under which the ambulances were introduced today, is one of the initiative that is expected to give a boost to hill healthcare.

“Expectant mothers, irrespective of their economic background can avail themselves of a free transport to the hospital for delivery. They will also be dropped after recovery and the family can use the transport for a check up for another month,” said Bhowmick.

To utilise the facilities, the patients will have to enrol themselves at a government health centre. “They will be given an enrollment card after which they can call up a toll free number (102) for the free transport,” said Bhowmick.

“Many other initiatives are also being undertaken to strengthen the health services across the hills. We are in the process of constructing 24 more sub centres in various gram panchayats. The government is also planning to set up diagnostic centres and a dental surgeon is also expected to join the Darjeeling hospital soon.”

The Telegraph