Despite the tall claims of the Odisha government to provide world-class healthcare, the people in rural as well as urban areas continue to suffer with basic health facilities eluding them.
Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital (FMMCH) in Balasore is a case in point.
Six years have passed since the medical college and hospital was inaugurated. This much time is enough for a medical college to get all its facilities streamlined. But the district’s premier health institution is showing an altogether different picture.
Even though crores of rupees have been spent to develop the infrastructure of the hospital, it is still grappling with several problems.
“On this floor, there is no bathroom and latrine. Even this floor doesn’t have a dustbin,” alleged Anita Rout, a patient from Nilagiri.
Giving vent to his anger, a Balasore resident, Debabrata Kar said, “The water connections to their (hospital officials) houses should be snapped. They should be asked to go to the ‘shauchalays’. Then only they can understand the pain of a common man.”
Recently Balasore District Collector, Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde had to pay a surprise visit to the hospital at night after getting a complaint that a nurse had used a pre-used needle to administer saline to a woman patient.
On finding the fifth and sixth floors of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department of the hospital running short of water, he expressed his resentment. He made a temporary arrangement for the patients the same night.
“As the old pipes are being replaced with new ones, a particular floor of the hospital had a drinking water issue for five days. The hospital authorities have arranged a temporary tank for the said floor,” said the Collector.
The district Collector’s surprise visit proved to be a boon for the patients because the hospital administration, after coming to know about the Collector’s visit, has taken steps to fix the drinking water and toilet issues at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department.
Notably, a few days ago, MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi had pulled the hospital authorities up over a patient being discharged forcefully. Then the hospital authorities did an internal probe and found the negligence allegations against the doctor to be true.