Doctor-patient ratio awful, say Gandhi hospital medicos

PG doctors at Gandhi Hospital’s Covid ICU say patient care is severely compromised in the process.
PG doctors block a road near Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Wednesday as they protest the violence against healthcare workers | Vinay Madapu
PG doctors block a road near Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Wednesday as they protest the violence against healthcare workers | Vinay Madapu

HYDERABAD: The Gandhi Hospital, at the peak of the outbreak last week when there about 1,700 active cases, had an abysmal doctor-to-patient ratio. There was just one doctor for two wards at the time which severely impacted patient care, allege junior doctors. The hospital has been understaffed not just in terms of doctors but also ward boys, nurses and other medical staff. Often doctors pushed patients on a wheelchair, shifted their beds and strung them to the oxygen cylinders. The situation is worse for those in the ICUs. 

The 65-bedded Gandhi Hospital increased its strength to 165 which is now being managed by doctors of General medicine, anaesthesiologists and pulmonologists.

“These three departments have 120 PG doctors altogether. Forty of them are writing their exams in the coming 10 days, so they are not on duty. Out of the remaining 80, only 40 are on duty on any given day because of the 50% quarantine rules to avoid indiscriminate exposure. Forty doctors work two shifts a day.

So only about 20 PG doctors have to manage the 150+ ICU patients,” said a junior doctor from the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA). This mismatch has left critical care virtually non-existent, admit doctors. “We did not study for 11 years to kill patients. But we are so short-staffed that it becomes difficult to take care of a single patient. We barely have 10 minutes to spare for each patient,” added a Gynaecology PG doctor who has been performing surgeries on Covid-19 pregnant women. The staff shortage may have caused high mortality, say doctors.

“Supportive care is imperative because they are the ones who feed patients, take them to the toilet and give them medicines. Right now, the patient is all alone in the ICU because there every staffer has 10 jobs. Unless this is changed, mortality will rise,” a General medicine PG doctor said. Meanwhile, TJUDA decided to continue with the strike till  a positive decision on decentralisation is taken.

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