ROURKELA: The proposal to double the bed capacity of Rourkela’s ESIC Model Hospital remains stalled even as the facility struggles with critical administrative and resource shortages.
On August 19, the CITU’s Sundargarh district committee raised concerns about the worsening conditions and alleged a deliberate effort to undermine the hospital’s effectiveness. The committee has announced plans for an agitation outside the hospital on August 27.
Despite being the sole Model Hospital for Odisha, the 50-bed facility has seen its importance diminish with the operation of a larger, 100-bed ESIC hospital in Balaramprasad in Angul district, which has been in place for over two years.
The Model Hospital here caters to approximately 1.5 lakh insured persons (IPs) and their dependents, according to its official website. CITU national vice-president and Odisha general secretary Bishnu Mohanty criticised the hospital’s management, citing a severe shortage of medical staff. The hospital, which should have 26 doctors, currently has only nine due to recent mass transfers. Key departments like Medicine lack staffing, and essential diagnostic facilities such as X-Ray, MRI, Ultrasound, Endoscopy, and CT Scan are not available. Additionally, language barriers between doctors from other states and patients increase the problems.
Mohanty said, “The hospital, intended to serve a vast region including Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, and Sambalpur, is facing a gradual withdrawal of health benefits from the central government. The proposal to expand the hospital to 100 beds, initially surveyed for feasibility 30 months ago, has made no tangible progress.”
The CITU is now demanding an upgrade to 250 beds to meet the urgent needs of the community, he stated.
Reliable sources within the ESIC revealed that plans were finalised in early 2022 for new facilities, including two 100-bed hospitals in Jharsuguda and Jajpur, a 150-bed super-specialty hospital in Bhubaneswar, and a 30-bed hospital in Paradeep. However, the Rourkela facility continues to struggle to meet the needs of the dependents.
ALL’S NOT WELL
ESIC Model Hospital currently has 50 beds
Serving approximately 1.5 lakh insured persons and their dependents.
Critically understaffed with only 9 doctors available against sanctioned strength of 26
Essential diagnostic facilities missing
Proposal to expand beds to 100 has not progressed
The CITU has planned an agitation on August 27 to protest the deteriorating health services