SAMBALPUR: Though the district headquarters hospital (DHH), Sambalpur, has started services for general patients after the closure of the Covid hospital here, patients being referred to the medicine ward are facing trouble due to severe dearth of beds.
Pior to the Covid crisis, the medicine ward had 100 beds with 50 beds each in male and female medicine ward. However, as the Covid hospital started functioning here from April 22 last year, the male medicine ward was converted into an isolation ward and the female medicine ward was turned into intensive care unit (ICU).
Even though the DHH resumed normal functioning again from November 20 last year, the isolation ward and ICU continued to occupy the space and the medicines wards were shifted to another facility within the premises.
Currently, the male and female medicines wards are functioning only 27 beds. A doctor of the department, Pankaj Patel said, only 27 beds for both male and female medicine wards is not adequate to cater to the heavy caseload.
“At present, 10 to 12 patients are being admitted to the hospital on each day. We are facing problems in treating new patients when the already admitted patients are not discharged for long,” he said.
An official of the hospital said, since the ICU and isolation ward are here to stay, the hospital authorities need to make alternative arrangement to increase the number of beds of both the medicine wards of the hospital. Due to the shortage now, doctors are being forced to refer many patients to the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) Burla.
Additional district medical officer (ADMO), Sambalpur, Alekh Mahapatra said, “I have already discussed the issue with the higher authorities. The matter will be resolved at the earliest.”