SIALKOT - Shortage of doctors and staff at 187-bed Daska Civil Hospital has been irking the indoor and outdoor patients.
There is only one surgeon and only one heart specialist at Daska Civil Hospital, while the post of the ENT doctor had been lying vacant for the last one year.
The patients and their heirs said that both the surgeon and heart specialists perform their duties till 01;00 pm and go away from the hospital and after them, all the patients even at the emergency are left at the mercy of medical officer.
A patient even in critical condition has to wait for 24 hours to get checked by a doctor at Daska Civil Hospital. The patients are given appointments after the six months for their minor or major surgery. If a patient is in need of a minor or major surgery he/she is given appointment after six months, they said.
The people stressed a need for one more surgeon and one more heart specialist at the hospital following the growing number of patients ensuring the early appointment of any ENT specialist.
The perturbed patients and their families also urged to ensure the availability of specialist doctors even after the 01:00 pm daily at the hospital. They said that the patients should not be left at the mercy of the medical officers (MOs) by the medical specialists doctors.
They said that management of Daska Civil Hospital should also improve the mechanism for ensuring the availability of medical specialist/senior doctors at the emergency department round the clock.
When contacted, the hospital management confirmed the situation, and said that they were fully aware of the situation. They said that they had repeatedly brought it into the notice of high ups of Health Department but to avail.
On the other, though the district administration of Sialkot has assured the availability of medicines at DHQ Civil Hospital but the acute shortage of the staff at the hospital’s own dispensary was still making it hard for the patients to get medicines.
They have to queue up in sizzling hot weather. However, there is no visible solution to the prolonged miseries of the patients despite the high claims of hospital’s management in bringing betterment in the provision of health services, they said.
The hospital management said that there was only one person in the dispensary to provide mediciness for hundreds of patients at Daska Civil Hospital. Thus, they have to wait for hours for medicines while standing in long queues, they added. The patients stressed a need for deputation of more staff at the dispensary to jazz up the procedure of providing medicines for the patients.