Chest Hospital doctors seek better facilities

[sajiv]

Chest Hospital doctors seek better facilities

HYDERABAD: The medical staff of Erragadda Government Chest Hospital has written to the government demanding immediate steps to improve the hospital infrastructure and manpower.

The hospital authorities said that the situation could go awry in case they were swamped with critical cases in the wake of swine flu incidence in the State capital. So far the hospital has smartly managed the large number of swine flu patients but the fact remains that though the hospital is designated as a general hospital, it does not have any multi-specialities, save for respiratory ailments.

ICU ill-equipped
The intensive care unit of the hospital is not equipped properly and there is a perennial manpower shortage. "Despite these shortcomings, we did not allow the situation to go out of control. But in case we get critical patients, then we are not at all prepared to handle them," the hospital's doctors say.

On Monday, the Niloufer Hospital had referred a girl child with clear symptoms of dengue fever, to the hospital because of the 'matching' symptoms with swine flu. The Chest Hospital authorities noted 'rashes' on the child, which is a common symptom in dengue. The child needed a paediatric ventilator, which the Chest Hospital did not have.

Critical cases
"Private hospitals are sending critical cases to us because the patients suffer from cough and fever. Our intensive care unit is not equipped to handle such patients. We only have three ventilators. The government had promised us 10 but nothing has been done," doctors said.

The Chest Hospital authorities have requested the government to force other government facilities like Gandhi, Osmania and Niloufer Hospitals to rise to the occasion.