Patients crowd Kangpokpi District Hospital amid staff shortage
Source: Chronicle News Service

Kangpokpi, July 13 2022: Amidst the upsurge in COVID cases in the state, the Kangpokpi district hospital is overcrowded with patients, mostly children with high fever, typhoid and other cases.

The district hospital is now grappling with staff and bed shortage due to the large number of paediatric patients admitted, some of whom are being treated in the emergency room and other available spaces.

The situation has forced many patients to be referred to other health centres including Kangpokpi Christian Hospital (Mission Hospital) while some opted for home treatment.

Representatives of CSOs Kangpokpi, including KSO Sadar and TSA Sadar Hills, led by Kuki Inpi Kangpokpi vice president Thangminlen Kipgen, visited the district hospital and met with the hospital authority to take stock of the situation.

While talking with the medical superintendent, it came to light that the hospital authority has been grappling with staff shortage since long, despite repeated appeals to the authorities concerned.

As per MGEL sanctioned post, there should be 14 staff nurses but only four are posted at present and of which one has been posted at PHSC Parsain under PHC Kalapahar as CHO under NHM.

With the large number of patients turning up at OPD, IPD and emergency room, it has become an insurmountable task for only three staff nurses and 4 FHWs to deliver quality healthcare services 24x7.The hospital is in urgent need of at least 8 staff nurses.

Apart from shortage of nurses, out of 3 sanctioned LDC posts, none were posted at present, and one ambulance driver is posted out of 2 sanctioned posts.

There is also no chowkidar despite one sanctioned post, and only one sweeper is available against two sanctioned posts while only one Grave-IV is available despite three sanctioned posts.

The chief medical officer recently wrote again to the director of Health Services, stating that the District Hospital/CHC Kangpokpi, despite being a referral centre for other PHCs/PHSCs/HWCs of the district, has been facing immense inconveniences in providing quality healthcare services to the public owing to lack of manpower, and requested the director for posting adequate number of staff.

Unfortunately, the ICU ward inaugurated recently is still not functional because of manpower shortage.

The CSOs team also visited the patients at the hospital with medical superintendent Dr Paotinlal Haokip accompanying the team.

Meanwhile, Kuki Inpi Kangpokpi vice president Thangminlen Kipgen said that the district hospital is plagued by staff shortage and poor infrastructure, elaborating that none of the fans in the wards are functional during this scorching summer which is not a conducive place for the patients to recover.

He also said that there are also some minor and major repairs urgently needed in the hospital and a non-functioning toilet in the hospital is also one major concern that needs to be urgently addressed.

The lives of many people are at stake as the district hospital authority is grappling with staff shortage amid the surging number of patients admitted with various cases, he added.

Thangminlen then appealed to the health minister and authorities concerned to take serious note of the help sought by the hospital authority and initiate action at the earliest for the welfare of the people.

The CSO leaders also met the Kangpokpi deputy commissioner regarding the acute shortage of staff in the district hospital and various other issues which the DC assured to look into after due consultation with the chief medical officer.

Comment