Sub-divisional Civil Hospital, Abohar sans gynecologist, pediatrician

Due to the lack of gynaecologists in the 100-bed sub-divisional civil hospital here, pregnant women are facing a lot of problems. Even a caesarean section of pregnant women is not operating because the doctor who administers anaesthesia comes here only for two days a week and the caesarean cases have to be referred. Due to this, the number of free deliveries in the hospital have nosedived. Needy women’s families have to spend about Rs 20,000 for a safe caesarean delivery in private hospitals. Apart from this, there is no specialist to attend to children in the government hospital.

Praying anonymity, some women who visited the civil hospital today said that they were told that they or their children can’t be examined as there were neither a gynaecologist nor paediatrician available.

The patients said that wherever the treatment is available, the delivery would have to be done there itself. The female nursing staff or matrons here would have done a normal delivery but if a critical patient comes, she has to be referred because there is no gynaecologist available here.

Senior Medical Officer Dr Neerja Gupta said that every month, she sends a report about the vacant posts of doctors and it is the job of the government to appoint them. She said that a large number of normal deliveries take place here but critical patients have to be referred. She said that the anaesthesiologist here provides his services only two days a week, due to which the work gets affected.

Some social activists who assist the needy patients in health facilities said that due to the lack of gynaecologists and doctors for children’s diseases, people are facing a lot of problems. When the hospital had paediatrician Dr Saheb Ram in service, more than 150 OPDs cases were dealt daily while the same number of cases were of women. But after he relinquished charge due to personal reasons, turn up at the OPD has nosedived.

MLA Sandeep Jakhar said that he had sent letters to the officials and met respective ministers three times but got only false assurance on filling the posts of specialists. Tribune India