CUTTACK: SCB Medical College and Hospital has re-introduced one-attendant-per-patient rule from Monday to reduce rush in different departments, ensure hygiene and put a check on growing brokers' menace.
There will be no more unauthorised entry to the hospital wards. One attendant's pass will be issued per patient and if necessary, two passes can be issued with permission from the doctor concerned.
"Unnecessarily, four to five attendants are found to have been attending some patients resulting in crowding at departments and often creating problems for doctors and health staff treating patients," SCB MCH Administrative Officer Dr Abinash Rout said.
"The hygiene of in-patient wards too is compromised due to presence of too many attendants and their relatives. Overcrowding in the wards, even if it is one's kin, is not advisable as it could lead to infection among patients. Moreover, with no restriction, the brokers too manage to sneak inside and divert patients to private hospitals. The new rule can solve all these problems and streamline healthcare at the hospital," he added.
Initially, the new rule which has been implemented in Medicine department will be subsequently put in force at other departments. After a patient is admitted to a ward, along with a case sheet, an 'attendant pass' will be issued by the nursing unit of the ward.
An attendant is allowed into the in-patient ward only after showing the pass to security personnel. However, visitors will be allowed to meet patients during the stipulated visiting hours, Rout said.
When a patient is going to be discharged or shifted to some other department, then his/her attendant will have to return the pass, which is almost like an ATM card carrying name of the department and ward number, he informed.