Government ENT hospital in dire need of audiologists

Visakhapatnam: There is a lone outsourcing audiologist working at the Government ENT Hospital here causing trouble for patients suffering from hearing problems.

According to hospital superintendent Dr Raghunath, the hospital has the referral facility for all the 13 districts of the state and is suffering from shortage of medical officers. It caters to needs of not only the state but also that of Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The hospital receives at least 500 outpatients a day and conducts 50 surgeries a week, indicating the heavy work load on the staff.

The sound pollution is on the rise in the city. Annually, the number of those suffering from ear ailments is also on the rise at least by 20 per cent. When the Pollution Control Board officials recorded the sound pollution at Poorna Market area, it was found to be 104.8 decibels as against the normal 65 decibels.

A patient, Appa Rao, said that one has to wait for several hours, in some cases two or three days, to see the doctor. Though the hospital has good equipment, it is understaffed to deal with patients.

For certain posts, certificates on hearing ability of candidates are required. In some other cases, only after the audiologist decides on the hearing ability of the patients, further treatment is provided.

The government is not bothering to fill the audiologist posts. The audiologist, appointed on outsourcing basis, is paid a pittance compared to other medical officers. Since the wages are low nobody is evincing any interest to join the service.
It is high-time the State government swung into action and filled the posts.

By Anuradha