04 October,2023 07:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Eshan Kalyanikar
The Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in Vishnupuri, Nanded
In the wake of a recent spate of deaths at a Kalwa hospital, a similar tragedy occurred at a civil hospital in Nanded, where 35 patients lost their lives since Monday night. A local politician alleged that despite having permission for 500 beds, the facility has twice as many beds but lacks adequate staff.
Dr S R Wakode, the dean of the facility in question, Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital, said that there was a medicine shortage because the Haffkine Institute failed to provide supplies. Dr Kailash Baviskar, deputy director, IEC, public health department, said that if the hospital had inadequate stock, it had the power to purchase it locally.
Dr Wakode also added that the medicine purchased locally was insufficient to serve the large population in and around Nanded. "There's a committee that has been sent to the hospital to assess what went wrong. We'll find out soon enough," said Dr Baviskar. Meanwhile, Dr Wakode did not answer any further questions. The hospital was formerly located in the city centre but shifted to Vishnupuri in 2020.
The Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in Vishnupuri, Nanded
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Sanjay Kanode, the village panchayat secretary, said, "This is the only major hospital here with a medical college. It serves people from Nanded city as well as nearby villages." He added that this is the first time such a tragedy has occurred. "There are frequent reports of shortages in local newspapers, but nothing like this has happened before," he said.
Farooq Ahmed, a local politician with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, said, "They have permission for 508 beds, but there are about 1,000 beds instead, with inadequate staff to look after patients." He added that the hospital is overcrowded all the time. However, sources said adding more beds is common practice across government set-ups.
"Medicine shortages are persistent. People have to buy medicines from outside, and on average, 15 patients die daily," he alleged. Dr Wakode confirmed that the hospital was functioning beyond its sanctioned capacity. "There are 1,080 functioning beds. This is a government hospital. We cannot refuse admission to patients so we have to make space for whoever comes."
1,080
No of functioning beds in hospital
