Oldest hospital in Andhra Pradesh awaits modernisation

Guntur: Started in the year 1848 in 11 acres, GGH needs modernisation desperately. Barring Podila Prasad Millennium Block, all the buildings of GGH are very old and in dilapidated condition. 

Till some time back, drinking water and toilets were not provided to the attendants of the patients and they were forced to go out. Even drinking water was an issue. Guntur East MLA Md Mustafa installed a water kiosk at the entrance gate of GGH.

The GGH is the main hospital for the coastal districts with 1,500 beds and nearly 4,200 patients visit the hospital as out patients every day. 

GGH is equipped with four surgical and four medical wings, but these departments are facing severe shortage of speciality doctors. Only 186 nurses are employed in the hospital while the requirement is of at least 400. Another 100 posts of class IV employees are lying vacant in the hospital. Besides this, 24 professor posts, 61 assistant professor posts, 5 associate professor posts and 50 paramedical posts are lying vacant in the GGH.

GGH is the only state hospital in AP offering open heart surgeries and transplantations, pediatric heart surgeries, kidney/liver transplantations, knee surgeries, dialysis and other services. The people rendering their services as volunteers under Manava Seva programme in the GGH are seeking the modernisation of the oldest GGH and urging the government to upgrade it like NIMS. 

GGH superintendent Dr D.S. Raju Naidu said that GGH Development Committee meeting has decided to construct burns and septic ward, public toilets, another laboratory and a sewage treatment plant with the cooperation of Guntur Municipal Corporation. 

He said that facilities would be improved for patients and house surgeons, CCTV cameras would be installed in OP wards and signboards would be erected to help the public. Meanwhile, Minister for medicine and health K. Srinivas has assured the hospital about working for the re-sanction of '4 crore funds for GGH modernisation.