Grim prognosis in Maharashtra – Hindustan Times

The spectacle should alert us to the lack of seriousness in the political class to address the problems that beset the health care system. Eighteen patients died in a single day at a municipal hospital in Thane a month ago, and little has been done since to prevent a recurrence. The Nanded hospital has 43 positions for senior resident doctors and 267 positions for nurses vacant, so when the number of patients tripled on the long weekend starting September 30 — most of them referred by private hospitals were already critical — the intensive care staff was left overwhelmed. The 508-bed hospital, which treats double the number of inpatients daily, does not have an MRI machine; its CT scanner has been out of order for a fortnight; and the dean has complained about the lack of basic and life-saving medicines.

This shortage is ironic given that Maharashtra has government-run medical colleges in 26 of its 34 districts and churns out 3,600 MBBS doctors each year. However, as per the Directorate of Medical Education and Research data, 60% of them violate their year-long rural service bond. Poor infrastructure in rural and semi-urban hospitals, including the shortage of professors at medical colleges, is a deterrent for fresh graduates. In 2019, the Maharashtra government took away DMER’s mandate to fill vacant positions at government hospitals, promising to do the job within three months. It’s been three years since and nothing has moved on these vacancies.

For poor patients, private hospitals serve only up to a point. Prohibitive costs and grim prognosis mean they inevitably turn to government hospitals as happened at Nanded. Increasing staff strength and upgrading infrastructure must become a priority at government hospitals.