Glaring “Medical” mismanagement

While people should expect better medical facilities and treatment at Government hospitals , the situation at both the hospitals in Jammu at close proximity to each other, at times, becomes far from satisfactory . In fact, whether it is GMC Hospital – especially the Emergency wing or the Super Speciality Hospital, the management is found just in a state of shrugging its shoulders when beseeched, requested, urged and even passionately implored by attendants and close relatives of patients in many cases for a needed medical help. This is the feedback, if not series of complaints, received at our news desks from most of those ones who happen to visit these hospitals with great hopes . We do not, however, rule out the overall scenario of the main purpose of these hospitals namely treating patients and succouring them but sporadic incidents of negligence especially on the part of the hospital administration and wilful non attendance in cases of emergency and collapsing of vital machines and equipment, render all other good and even dedicated work done to triviality and paltriness, if not all hazed and clouded. The incident of the RO Plant of Government Super Speciality Hospital (SSH) Jammu developing some fault on May 26 and its resultant shutting down frustrated and dejected those patients who had reached there with great hopes for dialysis treatment. We have reports that not a single patient needing dialysis could be treated on that day.
Normally, in cases of critical dialysis needing patients who normally have to visit the hospital twice a week, going back unattended even on one turn, could prove disastrous for the patient’s health and even jeopardize life which speaks for the need to have more than one unit in total readiness and functional mode. We learn that there are nearly 30 dialysis machines in this hospital, the lone institution conducting dialysis services even under current COVID-19 pandemic conditions. Out of these 30 machines, as many as 20 are old enough to be put to optimal use while 10 were installed a few weeks back only . A good number of patients, say 40 to 50 were otherwise getting dialysis treatment on daily basis. Government hospital at Gandhi Nagar Jammu has all the dialysis machines ‘reserved’ for COVID suspected patients only. In such a situation, the only hospital where dialysis needing patients could go is the Super Speciality Hospital.
Such a hospital with prefixes of ‘Super Speciality’, should not be subjected to such a mismanagement of things where critical and sensitive dialysis units are not working and have to be shut for days together. There should have been sufficient arrangements for some emergency back-up relying availability RO plant which unfortunately , it does not have. Second most important thing about such RO plants is the facility of after sales and installation services which should be readily and locally available and that too is not taken care of by the hospital administration. Regular servicing whilst in working form, could probably not render them unserviceable abruptly as in the instant case, we learn that the RO plant is damaged and needs total replacement.
However, in such cases, the hospital administration should have some sort of understanding and arrangement with other medical institutions in the private sector where such patients in need of critical treatment of dialysis could be sent at hospital costs which would make the image and the services of this hospital stand in good esteem in the patients and their near and dear ones. We hope that by now, the situation must have been salvaged and bettered by the RO plant becoming functional and it is hoped that such a situation may not arise in future again. The hospital administration must come up to its expected role of responsibilities.