Lack of nurses and hygiene top list of grievances in western region

For that matter, government hospitals in the western region, too, were no exception. At the neonatal ward of Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem, there is barely one single nurse to take care of up to 20 babies. “How can one nurse tend to so many infants? This is a drastic shortfall as there should be at least one nurse for a couple of babies to offer better care. On any given day, there would be at least 100babies undergoing treatment in the neonatal ward of the hospital,” said a senior doctor, requesting anonymity.

Also, there are barely any nurses to take care of the babies being delivered at the hospital. Mostly, the house surgeons and interns pitch in to compensate for the lack of nurses in the hospital.

Shortage of nurses has also taken a toll on the super speciality wards of the hospital. “Many patients from even neighbouring districts come here believing that they would get better care with the existing super speciality treatment. However, they feel disappointed as there would be just one nurse left to handle more than five wards. Even patients admitted in super speciality were forced to move out to a private hospital,” he said.

Poor sanitation also remains a concern due to the inadequate number of sanitary staff to maintain cleanliness in the hospital. However, Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr MS Dhanabal said that there was no shortage of nurses in the hospital.

“Our hospital has adequate infrastructure. We have performed about 1,400 deliveries last month alone and of this, about 500 were cesarean. It would be better if there were some 50 to 100 more nurses. Still, we manage without any issues by roping in medical students,” he said.

Doctors in Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and Dharmapuri Medical College, too, echoed similar woes, with inadequate staff and lack of hygiene topping their list of grievances.