Khurda: There seems to be no end to the miseries of patients depending on Khurda district headquarters hospital even as crores of rupees have been spent by Odisha government for its complete makeover with a modern maternal and child and trauma care centre.
Though two months passed to the inauguration of the mother and child care unit, barring few rooms on the ground floor other rooms in the newly constructed six-storeyed building are lying unused.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had dedicated the mother and child care unit built at an estimated cost of Rs 14 crore via video-conferencing and later was inaugurated by health minister in December last year.
According to reports, the ground floor is being used as OPD where doctors attend patients and later send them to the old building for admission and necessary treatment.
Similarly, the new trauma care centre built at a cost of Rs 75 lakh is also operating without sufficient staff and facilities like X-Ray, OT, and ICU.
It has been a year since the centre inaugurated but OPD of orthopaedic department is functioning for which critically ill patients have to go the old complex for treatment.
“We have to run here to there to get patients admitted at the hospital. When we ask the authorities about the problems, they rue lack of adequate staff as the reason. Moving from new building to old building to complete all the formalities has become a big headache for us,” Sheikh Abdul, relative of a patient said.
Even doctors of the hospital are also unhappy over the matter.
"We also face trouble and want to get shifted to the new complex as soon as possible but staff shortage is a big issue. We need at least 35 nursing staff, security, sweepers and others to maintain the six-storeyed complex," said Gynaecologist Dr. Gouri Shankar Panda.
On the other hand the CDMO has assured that the matter will be looked at and resolved at the earliest.
“Right now we are functioning the outdoor at the new complex and we can move to the new building once minor requirements are fulfilled," said Khurda CDMO, Lingaraj Mishra.