Patients a harried lot as lone anesthetist goes on leave

Bijnor: Patients making a beeline at Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay District Women’s Hospital are a harried lot nowadays as the lone anesthetist at the facility is on a 15-day leave.
In Dr FC Verma’s absence – who is on leave till July 1 -- medical services have been badly affected and women requiring caesarian deliveries are being referred to other hospitals.
Surprisingly, despite numerous requests made by the chief medical superintendent of the district hospital to the authorities concerned to arrange for a substitute doctor, nothing has been done.
In the present scenario, patients are at the receiving end and many have been forced to go to other hospitals for treatment.
Nazia Parveen, one such patient, said, “I’m in my ninth month of pregnancy. Doctors at the hospital have refused to conduct an operation. I don’t have enough financial resources but I have no other option but to undergo treatment at a private hospital.”
Giving his take on the present state of affairs, Dr Babu Singh, acting chief medical superintendent at the hospital, said, “There is only one anesthetist who treats both men and women. As he is on leave, operations cannot be conducted. Though normal deliveries are being carried out at the hospital, women requiring caesarian deliveries are being referred to other hospitals.”
Stating that he had written to the authorities concerned to arrange for a substitute doctor, Dr Rakesh Dubey, chief medical superintendent, district hospital, added, “As Dr Verma is on leave, I’ve written to the authorities several times to arrange for another doctor so that patients don’t suffer. However, nothing has been done in this regard.”