Patients’ distrust in local medical colleges overcrowd GMCH: Doctors

Guwahati, Aug 22: All is not well in the State health sector. Although there are 14 operational medical colleges in the State, most patients flock to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) or Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, for treatment, resulting in these hospitals being hugely overburdened.

The lack of adequate specialists and infrastructure in other medical college hospitals is one of the reasons, yet the most important one – lack of patients’ trust in the healthcare provided by local medical colleges.

The Assam Tribune spoke to a number of doctors, though none of them wanted to come on record, and spoke on condition of anonymity. “The GMCH is always overburdened as it has to cater to patients from Guwahati, the entire lower Assam, and even from parts of middle Assam and the hill districts. Patients from the areas where other medical colleges are located also prefer to visit GMCH rather than getting treatment in the medical college hospitals near their homes,” said one doctor. “And the main problem is, the GMCH cannot send back anyone.”

Other medical colleges often refer serious patients and those who require cardio-thoracic surgery and neurosurgery to the GMCH because they do not have the facilities or experienced doctors to deal with such cases. “It is a case of buildings cannot treat patients,” said another doctor.

Doctors pointed out that overcrowding is a major problem for the GMCH. On an average day, around 3,000 patients turn up at the OPDs, and the doctors are hard-pressed to give treatment to all. An OPD team can treat around 100 patients a day. But sometimes, the number of patients goes up to 400-500, and it is impossible for the doctors to provide quality treatment to so many people in a day. “We understand that we cannot provide quality treatment to everyone if so many patients turn up in a day. But our hands are tied. We cannot send back patients,” a doctor said.

One doctor pointed out that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, is also overcrowded, but when the beds are full, they turn back patients. But in the case of GMCH, extra beds are put in the wards whenever required to admit patients, as there is no provision for turning back patients.

Around 2,300-2,400 patients are admitted to GMCH on an average day, and the number sometimes goes up to even around 2,800, which is a huge number for the GMCH. Extra beds have to be put in the wards, and doctors and nurses have a hard time providing treatment to so many.

Another doctor said that the Gynecology and Paediatrics Departments are always overcrowded. On average, 30-40 babies are born in the hospital every day. The number of babies having some disease or the other is very high; most of the newborns suffer from jaundice, and they have to be given phototherapy. Hence, it is impossible to maintain the “one bed one baby” norm.

One doctor pointed out a very vital shortcoming – due to the shortage of nurses in the ICUs, attendants are allowed to come inside the ICU to feed patients, which exposes patients to the risk of infections.

However, all doctors have one common view – steps should be taken to increase the confidence of the people in other medical colleges of the State, by improving the healthcare provided by local medical colleges.