WARANGAL: Patients coming to the Government Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital in Warangal, from far-flung districts of North Telangana, are returning disappointed as the hospital is running short of medicines.
Patients say that they are being issued medicines for only two days while they need the medicines for a month at least as per the prescription. Since these are Ayurvedic medicines that cater to each patient’s specific problem, they are not found easily in private medical stores.
The 10-year-old Government Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital treats about 250 out-patients every day. There is an in-patient (IP) service as well.
However, a shortage of doctors, other medical staff and that of medicines has developed into a major drawback. The situation is forcing patients keen on Ayurvedic treatment to look at private hospitals. Some are giving up on Ayurveda and switching to allopathy.
The Ayurvedic Hospital offers OP services only between 9 am and 12 pm every day. The hospital has 100 beds for patients. As many as 50 Ayurvedic dispensaries work under the Teaching Hospital in erstwhile Warangal district.The two-storeyed hospital is well-equipped and has good infrastructure. Both the OP and in-patient wings have eight departments covering treatments. They include General Medicine, Panchakarma, Shalya (General Surgeon), Prasuti Tantra Stree Roga (Gynaecology & Obstetrics), Baala Roga (Pediatric), Shalakya (ENT and Dental) etc.
While a total of 60 posts have been sanctioned, only five doctors and 19 medical staffers are on duty in the hospital. Thirty-seven doctors’ posts and that of other staffers are vacant since years in the hospital. There are no technicians in the laboratories.