Delhi's autonomous super speciality hospitals face docs shortage
New Delhi: The two autonomous super speciality hospitals in the national capital — Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital — are facing over 50 per cent shortage of doctors, resulting in longer waiting time for patients.
Both the autonomous hospitals offer world-class infrastructure, but suffer policy lacunae: the government has separate policies for the autonomous and government-run hospitals, according to the managements of the two hospitals.
The Delhi government has three super speciality hospitals, with two of them being autonomous and G.B. Pant Hospital being run by the city government.
According to Deputy Medical Superintendent Chhavi Gupta, the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) is a 180-bed high-end super tertiary care hospital in East Delhi dealing with cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, GI surgery, urology, radiology and having CPVS, ICU, CCU, blood bank, pain clinic and a sleep lab.
"We have two medical officers, one blood bank officer, and faculty doctors. About 50 to 60 per cent posts of doctors are vacant. The doctors are being recruited regularly."
When IANS visited the hospital, the OPD was flooded with people, while the remaining blocks of the hospital, spread on a 13-acre plot, wore a deserted look.
"With the existing strength, I think we are doing well. We are treating 1,500-2,000 patients in the OPD on a regular basis. The doctors here are happily working more and are putting in more efforts. Per day, the hospital takes at least 25 patients in the cath lab," Gupta said.
The hospital is providing Out Patient Consultation (OPD) services in cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, GI surgery, cardiac surgery, clinical hematology and rheumatology.
"It will be wrong to compare any hospital with a super speciality hospital. We deal with only super speciality branches."
Gupta said while the hospital has all the equipment and infrastructure, it is now keeping its focus on the doctors' recruitment.
"The hospitals deal with about five to eight minor and major surgeries per day," she added. While the plan is to make the hospital 650-bed, the first phase has the 250-bed sanction of which 180 are already in existence, Gupta added.
The picture was no different for the Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital (JSSH). According to known sources, the footfall in the JSSH is about 1,800
patients in the OPD per day, but the hospital too has huge
vacancies of doctors, with over 70 per cent posts of faculty doctors and specialists being vacant and no surgical doctors in the hospital.
