The district headquarters hospital, the only referral hospital of Kalahandi, is in a mess.
It is plagued by both acute shortage of doctors and beds in different wards. Such is the situation that patients in male and female Medicine, Children and Maternity wards can be seen lying on the floor while the verandah outside remains crowded.
The latrines, urinals and dining space are in a pathetic condition due to heavy load of patients. The patients instead are forced to use the nearby public toilet.
Social activist Devi Mishra, who visits the hospital daily helping needy patients for the last 15 years, said it is high time the Health Department took note of the situation and increased the bed strength of all wards, particularly that of the Medicine, Paediatric and Maternity.
The hospital with a bed strength of 165 meets only half of its requirement.
In the male and female Medicine wards, there are 23 and 26 beds respectively while on an average more than 50 patients are admitted to these wards daily.
Same is the case with the 22-bed Maternity ward which sees around 45 to 50 patients turning up for delivery every day. Many prefer to avoid the rush and head for nursing homes and the mission hospital at Bisamcuttack.
The Paediatric ward is worse. While there are only 25 beds, on an average 70 to 75 patients are admitted to the ward daily.
In such a chaotic situation, the doctors and nurses have a difficult time attending to the patients.
To add to the owes, posts of ENT Specialist, Pathologist, Anaesthetist, level-1 Surgical Specialist are lying vacant. The Paediatric ward is also being managed by one specialist.
Altogether 38 posts are lying vacant against the sanctioned strength of 176.
However, it is alleged that as many as 18 doctors had been unauthorisedly remaining absent since long.
CDMO Gunasagar Saha admitted that the beds are less compared to the patient in-flow to the hospital. The doctors are doing their best despite constraints, he said, adding that the government has been moved to enhance the bed strength and fill up the vacant posts.
Saha further said memos had been issued to the 18 absentee doctors.