Uttarakhand / Haldwani : Plans did not go ahead with files, doctors’ posts are also running vacant

Claims and promises are being made to improve health services, but the situation on the ground is quite the opposite. There are neither enough doctors nor technical staff in the hospitals. There is not a single cardiologist in two big hospitals of Kumaon, STH and Base. The plan to set up a cath lab in STH also died in the files. People are compelled to either go to private hospitals or to other cities for treatment of heart disease. 90 posts of Medical Officer are vacant in the district.

Health services are getting affected badly due to shortage of doctors in government hospitals. The posts of Cardiologist are vacant for a long time in Dr. Sushila Tiwari Hospital and Base Hospital. A plan was made to set up a cath lab in STH. The proposal was sent to the government, but the matter could not move forward. About 15 years ago a cardiologist was also posted. Pace makers were also introduced to some patients, but no cardiologist has been posted since his resignation. Base Hospital’s heart center has also been closed for years. The heart center building is dilapidated. In such a situation, patients suffering from heart disease are compelled to get treatment in private hospitals. Similarly, the work on the plan of the State Cancer Institute has not started on the ground. The budget for this scheme has also been received from the central government.

Position of doctors
There are 343 posts of Medical Officers in the district, while the deployment is of only 253, 90 posts are vacant. Two posts each of Microbiologist, Forensics are created, but there is not even one deployment. Against the sanctioned posts of Dentist, four posts of X-ray Technician, 11 of Staff Nurse, 57 of Lab Technician and four of Pharmacist are vacant. The condition of Medical College Haldwani is also bad. There is no doctor in the radiology department. There is no head of department in departments like Pediatrics, ENT. Three doctors were transferred from the Department of Medicine, one left and one doctor has given notice to leave. The work is being done by giving additional responsibility of the post of Principal and Medical Superintendent to Professor and Associate Professor of this department. According to the norms of NMC in the medical college, about forty percent of the posts of doctors are vacant. Recently, in Haldwani, Medical Education Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat had talked about empowering the Principal of the Medical College for the posting of faculty. But how far this plan works is a different matter.

MRI, CT scan reporting from outside, ultrasound off
Haldwani. Ultrasound is closed due to non-availability of doctors in the Radiology Department of STH under Medical College, while reporting of MRI, CT Scan etc. is done through authorized private institution. This system has also been going on for a long time.
Coat

The proposal of cath lab has been given to the government in the past. A cardiologist is needed to run a cath lab, which is not there yet. As for getting the reporting of MRI, CT scan done from outside, then this system had to be implemented due to shortage of doctors.
-Doctor. Arun Joshi, Principal Medical College Haldwani