by: Umang Arora
Pallavi, a student of Central University of Himachal Pradesh, had suddenly fallen ill in the middle of the night. Her friends called every number possible, from emergency number provided by the Dharamshala Zonal hospital to 108, the Emergency Response Number. But there was no response on the other side of the phone. At last, they called Dharamshala Police Station and asked them to help their friend.
“Pallavi had an epilepsy attack at midnight. She was with us, at our room. We had to take her to the hospital”, said Kuldip*, her friend. They were facing such a situation for the first time and that too at the middle of the night. They frantically kept trying emergency numbers but found no response except from police.
Getting reliable and emergency medical help at Dharamshala is not easy, especially at odd hours. The Zonal Hospital, despite being the only major medical facility available for more than a dozen villages around Dharamshala is not in a good shape. Even basic services are lacking. Patients visiting here have to go through various challenges to get proper treatment.
"We're here since 8am and the doctor hasn't arrived yet." said the member of a family that came from Bandi, a small village in Kangra. Their son was suffering from high fever and even after waiting for 5 hours, there was no doctor to examine him at the Emergency ward. Members of another family from Gharoh, a village near Dharamshala, said they also faced the same situation.
The winter has arrived in the city and there's a hike in the number of patients. However, the doctors wouldn't arrive in the Emergency section till noon and there's no one to guide the patients. The help desk is there, but no one has ever been seen sitting there. The washrooms aren't properly maintained. At some, there're no lights and at others, there's not even partition among men's and women's washrooms.
It is not that the medical staff here does not want to take care of the patients. They also face issues. “The call on 108 goes to the Solan first, and then the ambulance is provided to the patient. Often, this causes delay, especially during odd hours”, said a hospital staff. “We’re trying our best to satisfy the patients with whatever resources available,” she said.
The Zonal Hospital is the only secondary care multispecialty hospital in the Dharmshala sub division in Kangra district. It is equipped with a 300 bedded In-patient ward and a total of 90 staff. According to sources, there’s a shortage of doctors in the Zonal hospital as of now. Most of the patients are being referred to Tanda Medical College due to this.
Randeep Singh Rana, a labourer, hailing from Dari, had fallen sick in the middle of the day. His family took him to the hospital. "The doctor didn’t even touch him. Such was his carelessness. We were not satisfied by the services of the hospital and had to take him to a private doctor." said his uncle.
People are just not satisfied by the hospital's services. Many complained that the hospital staff was very rude towards the patients and their families. Patients are forced to resort to continuously coax the emergency staff to get the essential medical help here.
For Pallavi’s friends, even getting police help to take her to hospital was not easy. The police tried to put their request off by asking them to wait till morning. “We even had to warn them that if something happens to Pallavi, they’ll be responsible”, said Kuldip. “Then only they came with a vehicle to help us”, said he.
*Name changed on request for privacy reason.
Pallavi, a student of Central University of Himachal Pradesh, had suddenly fallen ill in the middle of the night. Her friends called every number possible, from emergency number provided by the Dharamshala Zonal hospital to 108, the Emergency Response Number. But there was no response on the other side of the phone. At last, they called Dharamshala Police Station and asked them to help their friend.
“Pallavi had an epilepsy attack at midnight. She was with us, at our room. We had to take her to the hospital”, said Kuldip*, her friend. They were facing such a situation for the first time and that too at the middle of the night. They frantically kept trying emergency numbers but found no response except from police.
Getting reliable and emergency medical help at Dharamshala is not easy, especially at odd hours. The Zonal Hospital, despite being the only major medical facility available for more than a dozen villages around Dharamshala is not in a good shape. Even basic services are lacking. Patients visiting here have to go through various challenges to get proper treatment.
"We're here since 8am and the doctor hasn't arrived yet." said the member of a family that came from Bandi, a small village in Kangra. Their son was suffering from high fever and even after waiting for 5 hours, there was no doctor to examine him at the Emergency ward. Members of another family from Gharoh, a village near Dharamshala, said they also faced the same situation.
The winter has arrived in the city and there's a hike in the number of patients. However, the doctors wouldn't arrive in the Emergency section till noon and there's no one to guide the patients. The help desk is there, but no one has ever been seen sitting there. The washrooms aren't properly maintained. At some, there're no lights and at others, there's not even partition among men's and women's washrooms.
It is not that the medical staff here does not want to take care of the patients. They also face issues. “The call on 108 goes to the Solan first, and then the ambulance is provided to the patient. Often, this causes delay, especially during odd hours”, said a hospital staff. “We’re trying our best to satisfy the patients with whatever resources available,” she said.
The Zonal Hospital is the only secondary care multispecialty hospital in the Dharmshala sub division in Kangra district. It is equipped with a 300 bedded In-patient ward and a total of 90 staff. According to sources, there’s a shortage of doctors in the Zonal hospital as of now. Most of the patients are being referred to Tanda Medical College due to this.
Randeep Singh Rana, a labourer, hailing from Dari, had fallen sick in the middle of the day. His family took him to the hospital. "The doctor didn’t even touch him. Such was his carelessness. We were not satisfied by the services of the hospital and had to take him to a private doctor." said his uncle.
People are just not satisfied by the hospital's services. Many complained that the hospital staff was very rude towards the patients and their families. Patients are forced to resort to continuously coax the emergency staff to get the essential medical help here.
For Pallavi’s friends, even getting police help to take her to hospital was not easy. The police tried to put their request off by asking them to wait till morning. “We even had to warn them that if something happens to Pallavi, they’ll be responsible”, said Kuldip. “Then only they came with a vehicle to help us”, said he.
*Name changed on request for privacy reason.
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