Hyderabad’s Osmania General Hospital’s (OGH) junior residents have threatened to prohibit their services from 8th September if their infrastructural demands were not met as demanded.

The OGH is only apex tertiary care hospital for non-COVID-19 care in Telangana at present after Gandhi hospital, which is another tertiary care center designated for COVID-19 management.

The century-old hospital is tarnished with several issues that are ranging from an assumed shortage of medical equipment, lack of proper space for patient care or also to conduct surgeries. The hospital’s outpatient or the heritage block was shut down officially on 22nd July and all elective surgeries in departments of general surgery, surgical gastroenterology and general medicine were stopped due to lack of an operation theatre, and only emergency surgeries were performed.

President of Osmania Junior Doctors Association (JUDA), Dr. P Rohith, told indianexpress.com that almost 20 orthopaedics patients were tested positive for coronavirus and were admitted into the make-shift combined ward for pre-operative patients. Orthopaedics patients were on the third floor of QuliQutb Shah Building since last one and a half month and later were shifted to Gandhi hospital without being operated. After testing negative for coronavirus, they would be brought back and if there is any possibility of more damage to wounds, it might result in patients’ amputation. Dr. Rohith has pointed out that illustrations to the hospital superintendent and the Director of Medical Education (DME) have fallen on deaf ears. Their demands are proposed to offer better medical care to patients who are coming to OGH from across Telangana.

The JUDA has already submitted anillustration to the hospital superintendent on 18th August and the DME on 21st August, raising numerous issues about the hospital. In its latest demonstration on 1st September, the doctors have insisted that the management should provide them with elective operation theatres, which is fully equipped with acute surgical units and post-operative wards.

The hospital superintendent, Dr. B Nagender, told indianexpress.com that the DME has instructed him to re-organize and assemble operation theatres in the QuliQutb Shah building of the hospital. At present, three OTs in the building, specifically for both elective and emergency surgery cases for the department of neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery and urology are available. Few repairs are required and would take one more month.

Concerning the combined ward in which the post-operative patients and orthopaedic patients are accommodated together, he confessed that overcrowding is a problem and they can’t do anything right now due to space constraint.

Source: The Indian Express