Mangalore, Dec 14: Minister for Health U T Khader on Friday held a surprise visit to District Wenlock Hospital and pointed at several shortcomings in the hospital.
The Minister has asked the hospital authorities to maintain hygiene, to develop better communication with the patients and to improve the system of administering medicines to the patients.
He has also ordered the hospital authorities to see to it that weeds and unwanted plants that have grown luxuriously in the hospital premises are cleared off regularly.
He suggested the hospital authorities to hold talks with the NSS units of various colleges so that they could voluntarily take up some service in the hospital premises.
Making use of the opportunity, Surgeon Dr Rajeshwari Devi and KMC Manager Jayaram said that the 167-year-old structure of the hospital has been demanding repairs.
Demanding for a separate management wing for the hospital, the District Surgeon said that the ceiling of the building has been leaking at various places, water and electricity connectivity have been a major problem and even drainage system in the hospital was not up to the mark.
“We accommodate patients from seven districts. We have only seven beds in the ICU, while we required a minimum of 40 beds,” said the District Surgeon to which the Minister said that this problem will be solved once the multi-specialty hospital is done.
Unchanged bedsheet
When the issue of the hospital staff having not changed the bedsheet of a patient was raked up by the Minister, the District Surgeon said that shortage of cleaning staff in the hospital has been posing huge challenges.
“We at present have one staff per 80 patients. This certainly is a difficult situation,” said Dr Rajeshwari Devi.
Contact number
The Minister directed the District Surgeon and other higher officials of the hospital to install a contact number board outside the hospital so that the patients can get in touch with them in case they face any problems.
“It is learnt that the patients are being sent out of the hospital to get X-ray, scanning and other examinations done, even when the facilities are available in the hospital. Such instances must not recur,” said the Minister.
Govt poly clinics
The Minister said that the government intends to have one government poly clinic per every one lakh population in the Corporation limit and these clinics will be run with the help of consultants and visiting doctors.
“In future we will see Primary Health Centres making way for poly clinics,” he said adding that the blueprints for Community Health Centre at Ullal, Aroghya Saudha in Mangalore and Guest houses are being prepared.
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