PGI Chandigarh faces severe shortage of hospital attendants, nursing staff
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Chandigarh: The PGI is facing a severe shortage of hospital attendants, with a staggering 62% of sanctioned posts lying vacant. This critical shortfall is forcing patients' relatives to step in and provide essential care, leading to increased overcrowding and significantly compromising patient services, an RTI (Right to Information) query filed by a local resident, Ashwani Munjal, revealed.
Out of a total sanctioned strength of 519 hospital attendants across all grades, a massive 62% of these crucial positions remain unfilled. The impact is palpable, leaving admitted patients largely dependent on their family members, who are compelled to stay back at the hospital to tend to their loved ones. "This unfortunate situation not only adds to the already strained hospital crowd but also places an undue burden on the relatives themselves," said a patient's relative.
The crisis extends beyond attendants. The RTI further highlights a significant deficit in nursing staff, with 186 posts of senior nursing positions currently vacant. The situation is particularly dire for deputy nursing superintendents: out of 15 sanctioned posts, 6 were vacant until 2023, and an additional 9 became vacant this year, exacerbating the staffing crunch. "The information from deputy director administration and superintending hospital engineer on the subject under RTI application dated April 6, 2024, is still pending or rejected on frivolous grounds," said Ashwani.
He said, "The shortage of non-faculty posts in the PGI is badly affecting patient care services and further causing a burden on the existing staff," said Ashwani Munjal, the activist who unearthed these figures. The grant of leaves, including Maternity, Child Care, and Earned Leave, becomes an issue, even causing litigations in the absence of Leave Vacancy Quota."
This understaffing means that patients, already vulnerable, are left to bear the brunt of the administrative inefficiency, often having to "do the running around" for their admitted relatives. "I hardly see an attendant who can come and help us with the wheelchair or even for a bedpan. We have been doing this solely by ourselves as we cannot afford to keep a private attendant," said another patient's relative.
MSID:: 121889450 413 |
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