RAYAGADA: The Rayagada District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on November 15 last year continues to suffer from lack of doctors and para-medical staff. While the number of patients in the hospital is increasing everyday, the existing doctors and other health staff are overburdened with additional work.
The DHH is considered one of the biggest hospitals in the area with hundreds of people of Rayagada and nearby places depending on it. According to reports, the DHH caters to at least 500 indoor and outdoor patients everyday. The State Government has sanctioned 60 doctor posts, 207 para-medical posts and 28 administrative posts for the hospital, but currently, it is functioning with only 22 doctors, 62 para-medical staff and four administrative staff.
Construction of the new DHH building was started during the tenure of former Collector Sashi Bhusan Padhi in 2013 and completed last year at a cost of `23 crore. However, its functioning was delayed due to lack of fire safety measures. The building is categorised under G5 structure (five-storey building and ground floor). After the fire safety norms were adhered to, the hospital was opened last year.
Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Saroj Kant Nayak said the State Government has been apprised of the vacancies and recruitments would be made soon. However, sources said doctors are not willing to join the DHH in the Maoist-affected tribal district of Rayagada.
The district administration, on the other hand, has decided to improve healthcare facilities at the DHH. While the hospital is running with a capacity of 99 beds, the administration has planned to add 200 more beds besides opening of a 50-bed Mother and Child Health (MCH) unit. As the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate in the district is high, the administration plans to bring in more children to the hospital’s Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) and Sick Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU), said Collector Guha Punam Tapas Kumar. She recently decided this at the executive meeting of Rogi Kalyan Samiti meeting here. Apart from this, facilities like public toilets, cloak room, patient rest shed and cafeteria are in the pipeline.