NILGIRIS: The Nilgiris Government Medical College and Hospital, inaugurated by former Chief Minister M K Stalin a year ago, is yet to deliver the expected benefits. The recent referral of a snakebite patient to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) has highlighted the absence of a nephrologist at the Nilgiris hospital.
A 49-year-old farmer, R Siva, from Vaazhaithottam near Masinagudi, was referred from the Nilgiris Government Medical College and Hospital to CMCH on the third day of treatment following a snakebite. He had initially been admitted to the Nilgiris hospital on June 30 after first being taken to the Masinagudi Government Hospital.
The incident has raised concern among residents and activists, who have urged the state government to ensure the availability of adequate specialists to handle medical emergencies. They pointed out that referring patients to Coimbatore, which is nearly a three-hour journey from parts of the Nilgiris district, could delay critical treatment and endanger lives.
According to S Prakash, a temporary conductor with the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and the patient's son, "My father was bitten on his right hand while switching on a motor to irrigate our vegetable farm at Vaazhaithottam on the afternoon of June 30. My uncle first took him to the Masinagudi Government Hospital, but there was no doctor available. We were forced to wait for nearly an hour because there was no ambulance there. Eventually, an ambulance arrived from Ooty and shifted my father to the emergency ward of the Nilgiris Government Medical College and Hospital."
"After three days of treatment, doctors at the Nilgiris Government Medical College and Hospital advised us to shift my father to CMCH as there was no nephrologist available. Since he was already suffering from pain and giddiness due to the snakebite, we were reluctant to undertake a journey of more than three hours to Coimbatore. The medical college hospital was established to spare patients from travelling to Coimbatore for treatment, but in our case it failed to serve that purpose," he said.
Prakash added that after five days of treatment at CMCH, his father was discharged on Tuesday evening (July 7). "Doctors there told us that dialysis was not required. They prescribed medicines, and his creatinine level came down," he said.
N Sadiq Ali, a wildlife activist based in Ooty, said, "The hospital was constructed at a cost of more than Rs 143 crore. Yet, patients continue to be referred to Coimbatore due to the shortage of doctors and other essential facilities. The treatment could have been provided at the Nilgiris Government Medical College and Hospital. Government hospitals are expected to be equipped to manage snakebite cases as per protocol. However, the medical college hospital lacks adequate specialists and anti-venom. Health Minister K G Arunraj and Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Taneeru should intervene and ensure that all necessary treatment facilities are made available at the hospital instead of referring patients to Coimbatore."
Hospital sources said they have written to the state government seeking sanction for several vacant specialist posts, including that of nephrologists. "We hope the government will sanction the posts soon," the sources said.
