Maternity hospitals in Hyderabad suffer staff crunch pains

Hyderabad: The Koti Government Maternity Hospital was established in 1975 with staff strength of 158 and 160 beds. Forty years went gone by, the number of patients has risen multiple times over, but neither the bed strength nor the staff has increased.

The Hyderabad High Court appointed two women advocates last week as amicus curiae to study the conditions at the hospital and the plight of the patients. The ground reality is that it is a matter too many patients and inadequate infrastructure.

• The irony is that the strength of personnel has come down to 108 now from 158 when it became functional in 1975
• The doctors claim that each doctor attends to on an average 100 patients a day
• The High Court has appointed two women advocates as amicus curie to investigate into the ‘pathetic conditions’ in hospital

A division bench noted that it was wrong for the hospital to admit patients beyond its capacity. However, patients not only from twin cities but also from villages get down buses and pour into the hospital.

Though the population in the twin cities has risen by leaps and bounds, the infrastructure in the hospital remains static. Dr V Ratna Kumari, Superintendent of the hospital said, “We get close to 400 outpatients every day and each doctor attends to an average 100 patients.”

She further adds, “If doctors refuse to see more patients, they get threats and there have been instances of violence in the past.”

A senior doctor on condition of anonymity said the doctors in the Government Hospital cannot drive away poor patients as is the case with private hospitals. ‘If a pregnant woman is refused admission, she may give birth outside the hospital, giving bad name to the doctors and hospital,” he felt.

The hospital, when it was established, started with two units and several proposals to increase it to four or six units have not so far materialised. A unit comprises a professor, three assistant professors, senior and junior residents and house surgeons.

The hospital has a facility to treat 150 outpatients, but about 350-400 are being attended to every day. The number of deliveries has doubled in the last five years. In 2011, there were 7,789 deliveries and it rose to 12,797 in 2015. In the month of May, 1,174 deliveries took place at the hospital.

The Petlaburz Hospital has 462 beds, but caters to more than 600 patients. Poor people from Nalgonda, Nizamabad and nearby villages in Ranga Reddy district visit the hospital in large numbers. Senior doctors at the Petlaburz Hospital said that they cannot refuse patients lest they would be beaten up. Rahim, (name changed on request) an attender said, “There were instances when the police had to be called to control a mob.”

Such is the situation that patients reach the hospital during early hours and stay put. Lack of equipment and staff is a major source of hindrance. Proposals for upgrading the hospitals and increasing the bed strength have fallen on deaf ears.

A senior government doctor said the Koti Maternity Hospital location too is not good and needs to be shifted. There is no land available to build additional buildings. It may be noted that a building is coming up at the Koti Maternity hospital but it is to accommodate the patient’s relatives and is being constructed by the GHMC.

By: T P Venu