VISAKHAPATNAM: Amidst reports of severe staff crunch plaguing Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), a designated Covid hospital catering to critical care of four districts, Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao on Monday visited the hospital and took stock of the situation.
After reviewing the facilities available at the hospital, he said there were only 80 doctors in the hospital against the requirement of 300.
Admitting that there was shortage of paramedical and nursing staff, he said there are 120 nurses in VIMS and they are working in shifts and there is a need to have more nurses to provide better services.“Appointment of new doctors and nurses will be completed soon,” he said and criticised the previous government for totally neglecting VIMS.
Speaking on sanitation at the hospital, he said there are 75 sanitary workers in VIMS and asked the Collector to appoint more staff. “Despite staff shortage, the doctors and paramedical staff of VIMS are working with commitment. It is, however, a cause for concern that doctors are not willing to work in Covid hospitals,’’ he said and urged doctors to come forward to work in Covid hospitals as a social responsibility.
The minister said he received complaints that kin of the deceased were not informed about the deaths. The doctors, on the other hand, said the kin of the deceased were not responding to their calls. On Sunday alone, seven persons died and the bodies are in mortuary as relatives are yet to respond. During his visit, Srinivasa Rao interacted with patients and sought to know the medical services provided to them. Earlier, he faced the ire of relatives of patients who complained that services at the hospital were inadequate and sanitisation was poor. A woman said she was not given information about the death of her husband. The minister said steps were taken to plug the communication gap.
He said hereafter contact numbers of patients will also be taken at the time of their admission. He said there was lack of coordination in the hospital and to overcome this they appointed incharges. He said a 24x7 helpline with 9154280182 will be available for providing information. Simultaneously, two doctors -- one in the morning and the other in the night -- will be available to assist new admission of Covid patients.
On the issue of a woman who fell down while returning from the washroom and the videos of which went viral on Sunday, he said even before the woman was restored to the bed, the video was taken and circulated. Admitting that there are minor problems in the hospital which will be resolved, the minister promised to visit VIMS once in every fortnight.
AMC Prof is VIMS OSD
The State government on Monday deputed Dr P Venu Gopal, Head of Department of Paediatrics in Andhra Medical College, as Officer on Special Duty of VIMS. A GO was issued to this effect.