Cuttack: Lack of an adequate number of stretchers has affected the healthcare services at the SCB Medical College and Hospital here. Patients and their relatives are experiencing a harrowing time as stretchers are not available when needed the most.
More than 500 patients visit SCB Medical College and Hospital every day. They need to go from one department to another for various tests and examinations. However, due to the lack of stretchers they face inconvenience. On many occasions the relatives of patients are forced to carry them on their shoulders from one ward to another.
A source said that the departments most affected due to the lack of stretchers are casualty, pediatric, trauma care, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology and surgery, x-ray, and pathology.
Suresh Mohanty of Kendrapara district had an experience Thursday that he wants to forget quickly. “I visited the hospital with my ailing mother. However, there were no stretchers available in the hospital when we reached. So me and my brother had to carry her on our shoulders from one department to another. The hospital authorities should at least ensure some comfort for the patients,” Suresh said.
However, superintendent CBK Mohanty had a different point to offer. “We have provided 4-5 stretchers in every department,” Mohanty pointed out. “However, as there is a large turnout every day, there is a shortage of stretchers. Also at times patients forcibly occupy a stretcher, long after the examination is over. This also creates problems for other patients,” alleged Mohanty.
PNN