How to run sensitive institutions like hospitals, besides good buildings and proper ambiance as also necessary equipment, require the medical personnel to treat the patients which include besides Doctors , Specialists, nursing staff , technicians and other staff comprising gazetted and nongazetted cadres. Administrative capabilities are thus required for running hospitals in that taking stock of the reasonable justified number of the medical staff and others. This exercise is needed to be undertaken each and every year wherein arrangements for requisitioning of the replacements against those attaining superannuation, transfers, and other factors so that the shortage , if any , was not only minimal but of shortest duration. This appears all hypothetical and an exercise on papers only if the concerned authorities at the higher levels do not take such ”indenting” and requisitioning seriously and responding to very favourably all in the interest of the suffering people seeking treatment in the hospitals. The same holds good for faculty members and experts required for the Government Medical Colleges. Having said all this, a peculiar situation being faced by the Government Medical College and Associated Hospitals (GMC & AHs) Jammu in respect of facing acute shortage of faculty members as well as gazetted and non- gazetted staff, is perhaps being taken no note of by the concerned authorities in the Health and Medical Education Department. Not only this, the shortage of paramedical staff , nursing staff , laboratory technicians and other subordinate staff too is plaguing the hospitals. Under such conditions, not only is the existing staff overburdened and unable to devote pointed and satisfactory full attention to the patients but the patients generally and their attendants too are increasingly inconvenienced. What best can one expect when as against the required staff strength, the Government health institutions in Jammu catering to the whole population of entire Jammu region working with only 70 percent strength while 30 percent of sanctioned posts are lying vacant? Usually , we are very keen in voicing concern over ”absence of empathy ” and responsiveness from the Doctors and other associated staff though in certain cases rightly but the fact that this scanty staff strength say of 70 percent somehow has been managing 1100 beds in GMC, Jammu as against the notified capacity of 900 beds too needs to be noted. That rightly demands to be appreciated while at the same time duly questioning the levels of efficiency of the management of the hospitals by those concerned authorities who are vested with the powers and the requisite authority to initiate necessary steps on regular intervals in respect of filling of vacancies and ensuring cent percent staff strength provided to the hospitals. Not only one or two departments but almost all departments including Medicine, Gynaecology and Surgery are having posts fallen vacant but not being filled. Referring to the Super Specialist posts with sanctioned strength of 59, only 19 are in “position”. How would the peculiar and sensitively specialist treatment be available to the deserving patients with just 25 percent of the sanctioned strength of Specialists available and we talk of providing such Specialists in the Highway Trauma Medical Centres when even in the main hospitals such an acute shortage was afflicting the system. It is to be noted with due emphasis that the day our Government Hospitals are accorded priority by the Government in looking after the requirements of staff and providing of the workable equipment and machinery as also providing facilities including clean and attractive ambiance — general wards , especially the casualty and emergency wards etc , it will be deemed that the claims of the Government in being committed to providing and already claiming to provide better treatment facilities in hospitals, were true and practical. Let an impartial survey be made to see how most of the departments were not only hit but worst hit due to shortage of staff. Series of holistic and comprehensive rather than adhoc and short term measures, therefore, are required to be taken to salvage the position.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel