ESI hospital suffers from doctor shortage

KOCHI: Shortage of doctors has landed the ESI hospital in Fort Kochi in deep trouble. Thanks to the apathy of the authorities concerned, patients are running helter-skelter to consult the doctor. As per rules, hospitals should have three doctors, each of whom need to consult 60 patients. But with the surge in the number of patients and one doctor on duty, the ESI hospital will have a tough time ahead in managing patients.“Things went haywire a few days ago. There was only one doctor then. It was quite difficult to manage the rush of patients,” sources said. “The doctor is available from 8 am to 1 pm and to make the things worse, the patients have made it a habit to come at the ‘eleventh hour’,” they said. The problem aggravated as the doctor who got appointed to the post did not turn up. “We personally went and met her. The doctor was hesitant to join duty. We had a tough time as she was also not ready to give it in writing. Hence we had to wait till she completed the stipulated time to join duty before informing the authorities concerned that she had not reported yet,” sources said. “I had to go to the ESI hospital in Ernakulam. But we cannot buy the medicines from there. We can get them only from the ESI hospital at our place,” said Sayeed.Moreover, problems created by patients are many. “Despite coming late, they also want doctors to prescribe medicines for their family members also. With one doctor on duty, it is not practical for a doctor to consult each and everyone. When such a situation arises, the patients react rudely, which happened a few days ago,” they said.Labourers working in Willingdon Island are the ones creating more trouble, they said. “When they are caught bunking work, they usually come to the hospital to fill their leave application. All these takes a lot of time,” sources said.