SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Feb 23: Dhanbad Sadar Hospital, a major health centre for over 27 lakh population, is reeling under acute shortage of even small items like cotton and essential drugs to treat the patients.
For the poor patients who go there for treatment, the staff hand them the list of concerned medicines and other essential items; they have to take even cotton and needles.
Since Sadar Hospital is based in the heart of the city, poor people of coal city come here in large numbers to avoid high transport expenditure and heavy rush of patients at Saraidhela-based hospital Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College (SNMMCH).
State headquarters notified on Feb 3
Hospital superintendent Dr Rajkumar Singh told media persons that the state headquarters had already been informed on February 3 for the supply of cotton, needles, betadine and others. “Otherwise, all essential medicines are being provided to patients,” said Dr Singh.
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An attendant of a burnt patient, Krishna Viswakarma of Jharia, alleged that his patient had been admitted to the hospital for the last 20 days, and every day, hospital staff asked him to bring cotton and betadine from the market besides other medicines.
“I belong to a poor family and cannot afford a private health centre. That is why I got my wife in Sadar Hospital, but here, the inside scenario is different”, said Krishna Viswakarma.
Local authority has no power to purchase hospital supplies
Following the directive of the High Court and the relentless efforts of MLA Raj Sinha, Dhanbad Sadar Hospital was reopened in 2019 after 36 years.
A senior official of the district health department said that local authority has no power to purchase even cotton-like small items for hospitals, and even in emergencies, all items are supplied from state headquarters.
