Students losing out: GTB & LNJP request restarting non-COVID-19 services

New Delhi: Medical students and Resident doctors at the LNJP and GTB hospitals, both teaching hospitals under the Delhi government, have made repeated appeals to the Delhi government to start non-COVID-19 services as soon as possible because MBBS and Post-graduate students are missing out on crucial training.

Since March, both these hospitals have been attending exclusively to COVID-19 cases in the city. As such, medical students who would otherwise be receiving their clinical and surgical training, are unable to do so.

Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital (LNJP) is the biggest teaching hospital under the Delhi government with a capacity of 2,000 beds. Dr Keshav Singh, President of LNJP's Resident Doctors' Association said, "Before the pandemic, our OPD saw about 9,000 patients in a day but for about nine months now, that number has been zero. We have many MBBS and PG students with us, especially those in their final year, who are extremely worried. The government is essentially playing with their future. At this rate, they will be well behind the competition."

In a meeting with Health Minister Satyendra Jain, it had been decided that once the third wave of coronavirus infections in the city declines, one section of these hospitals could be made into a non-COVID-19 treatment wing.

Representatives from both hospitals also requested that COVID-19 specific treatments could be moved to non-teaching hospitals but were told that other hospitals did not have either the required bed-capacity or adequate resources.

Dr Sandeep Yadav, President of RDA at UCMS (University College of Medical Sciences, affiliated with GTB) said, "We have final year PG students who are unable to get their surgical training for almost a year. What will they have learnt upon leaving? Junior Residents are also facing a similar situation." He also said other large hospitals, such as Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, have at most 500 beds, so "we were told that they could not handle the number of COVID-19 patients".