This story is from July 8, 2019

Delhi: At Hindu Rao Hospital, no gloves, soap for doctors

Imagine taking a patient for surgery to a big government hospital in Delhi and doctors there ask you to get soap for them to wash hands during the procedure.
Delhi: At Hindu Rao Hospital, no gloves, soap for doctors
Hindu Rao Hospital
NEW DELHI: Imagine taking a patient for surgery to a big government hospital in Delhi and doctors there asking you to get soap for them to wash hands during the procedure. This and other horror stories are tumbling out of Hindu Rao Hospital, run by north Delhi municipal corporation, that’s facing a severe resource crunch.
The resident doctors’ association has written to the administration about the “pathetic situation” at Hindu Rao.
They say even basic stocks such as IV drips, fluids, stitching threads and gloves are running out.
Big question at Hindu Rao: Is it a hospital or a junkyard?
delhi

Dr Rahul Choudhary, senior resident at neonatology department and president of the hospital’s RDA, said he had to ask four patients to bring soaps during his Sunday shift. “My patient was in the operation theatre and the relative was being handed a slip to buy soaps and injections that cost Rs 10. There is no soap to wash hands in the OT or ICU,” he said.
Choudhary said the situation at Hindu Rao would make patients wonder if this was a hospital or a junkyard. He added that if a relative of a patient had slapped him (for asking him to get soap before surgery), he would have understood his plight. “What else can a common man do? The system has made both (of us) helpless.”

Doctors say the breakdown of the hospital’s systems is not endangering lives of patients as well as increasing the instances of violence against doctors.
Multiple letters have been written by parents of newborn babies who were asked to purchase soaps and basic medicines. Ram Sharma, a resident of Jharoda in north Delhi faces a similar request on Sunday. “My wife Priyanka delivered through an operation. We were asked to bring soaps and medicines from private shops. We had attendants and money, but imagine if there was an emergency case where the patient has no attendants? If this is not a shameful state, I don’t know what is," Sharma said.
Dr Manoj Bheri, from the general medicine department, said doctors don’t even have threads to tie the files of indoor patients. “Continuation sheets are regularly in shortage. There is shortage of steroids such as hydrocortisone for respiratory ailments which just costs Rs 20. We don’t have fluids, glucose and sometimes even IV drip pipes,” he added.
Last month, the general medicine department had witnessed violence by patients’ relatives, in which two doctors had got injured. Dr Bheri argued that patients assume that doctors, being the face of the administration, are responsible for the shortages and fight with them. “Some 90% of the flare-ups are due to shortages. Just two days back, a person starting fighting with me arguing if we were running a government hospital or a private one,” he said.
Dr Abhishek Bhatia, vice president of the hospital’s RDA, said doctors at times are told that even gloves are not available. “How do you expect us to take samples without gloves? We don’t even have medicines for gastritis and it is very difficult to argue with patients to make them understand that supply is not being provided. Now, the gastroenteritis season is coming and we will have hundreds of patients but will have no medicines,” Bhatia said.
Responding to the supply shortage crisis, Varsha Joshi, commissioner of the north corporation said she will examine the administrative issues of the hospital in depth and resolve them. Avtar Singh, mayor of civic body, said that a policy will be evolved so that doctors can directly purchase minor supplies.
Last year, the executive wing of the cash-strapped civic body had proposed to hand over its five major hospitals to the central government but house of councillors shot down the idea. Corporation functionaries argued that the hospital can’t be handed over and that an “emotional connect” exists with it dating back to 1911.
“What is the point of sentiments if it is endangering the lives of poor people?” Chaudhary asked. “If due to large-scale corruption, we can’t provide soaps for washing hands, why are we running the hospital and endangering lives? Why can’t they hand over the hospital to the central government? There is money to put on Kota stones for office floors and buildings, and rainwater harvesting systems, but core facilities have been crippled for poor people,” he added.
Hindu Rao hospital is the biggest of the municipal corporation’s healthcare facilities, catering to over 2 lakh patients every year — mostly from economically poor backgrounds. However, the crippling shortages, staff crunch and lack of basic diagnostic tools, point to a larger civic mess.
North corporation needs more than Rs 600 crore to keep its major hospitals running which is almost equivalent to its entire property tax collection.
There are around 6,700 sanctioned posts in these major health facilities. As per the finance department’s report, salaries alone constitute 85% of the corporation’s health budget, with less than 15% being spent on logistics such as drugs, equipment, maintenance, etc.
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