Staff crunch takes toll on State hospital’s NABH tag
Hospital authorities have been petitioning the government to fill up the vacancies for better patient care
By : k. praveen kumar
Update: 2015-10-06 07:20 GMT
KOZHIKODE: The Government Women and Children Hospital, Kottaparamba is struggling to keep up with the regulations of the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare (NABH) due to staff shortage.
The hospital caters to around 400 patients on a daily basis — pregnant woman and children — but till date has no full-time paediatrician.
There is one consultant and junior consultant paediatrician available at the hospital and two vacancies remain vacant. There are also about 16 vacancies on the nursing staff cadre.
Hospital authorities have been petitioning the government to fill up the vacancies for better patient care.
Kottaparmba hospital is one of the four hospitals in the city to have NABH accreditation, a rare feat for a government hospital. The accreditation is valid upto December 2, 2016.
The post of one anaesthetist has been lying vacant from March this year and a new one was appointed only on Monday.
“We are finding it difficult to live up to the expectations and requirements of NABH due to the staff shortage. When the posts remain vacant, those who are available are forced to work extra and are overburdened. The delay in promotion of doctors is the reason for the existing vacancies,” Dr K.C. Rameshan, superintendent of the hospital told DC.
Patients allege that they do not get timely care at the paediatric department due to the shortage of doctors.
“Each doctor has to take care of so many patients. We are forced to wait for long hours and it not easy when your child is sick,” Jananrdhanan, father of a child patient said.
“We have been told that the government is trying to fill up the vacancies and are working on the promotions of doctors. Our Casualty Medical Officer is a paediatrician so he is also doubling up as a paediatrician to take care of the extra rush,” Mr Rameshan said.
The Kottaparamba hospital has 295 beds in Gynaecology and Paediatrics together. Inpatient care is also badly hit because of the shortage of nursing staff.
“Pregnant woman and sick children demand better attention from the nursing staff. But after allocating night duty, weekly offs and leave, there are not many of the staff left to take care of patients,” another doctor said.