MADURAI: If you happen to visit the government Balarengapuram hospital GH and felt like drinking some water, you might just be in for a surprise: the 42-year-old government hospital can not give you that water, for it has not received any in the past five years. The dubious distinction does not end there.
Inadequacy of doctors
The GH has seven staff nurses, one Grade II Nursing Superintendent, two pharmacists and 10 outsourced hospitality workers. As for doctors, there were a total of eight viz., physician, surgeon, gynaecologist, dentist, paediatrician, dermatologist, anaesthesiologist and otorhinolaryngologist. However, owing to the implementation of a G.O on the restructuring of doctor strength at government hospitals across Tamil Nadu, doctor strength here was halved two months ago.
There are only four doctors now -- a physician, dentist, anaesthesiologist and an otorhinolaryngologist, apart from the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), who is a paediatrician. The result: Even staff nurses are forced to treat outpatients.
Surgeries affected
It has one Operation Theatre and performed 10-15 surgeries a month. However, with no surgeon on board, the number of surgeries at the hospital has been hit, said hospital CMO Dr M Shanmugasundaram. It receives 2,000 litres of water from an old borewell every day but it is not potable and is used only for cleaning, washing, said a hospital staff.
ORIGIN
Set up in 1977, the hospital sprawls over 1.5 acres and serves as a secondary-care peripheral centre. Attached to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), 40-bed facility treats 20 inpatients and receives 600-800 outpatients every day. The undivided hospital compound houses the soon-to-be-inaugurated Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) sprawling over two acres. The hospital receives a yearly funding of `9 lakh for medicines and `1.2 lakh for surgical equipment.