'No conflict with patients if ward boys do their job'

MUMBAI: A harrowed Bhoiwada resident said on Friday she was unable to meet her 15-yearold niece at KEM's ICU for want of a pass. “I have no idea what it is. I was supposed to feed her after giving her a sponge bath,“ Vaishali Jadhav said. Her niece was admitted to the hospital after consuming pesticide.
“My pleas to security personnel could not get me an entry even after an hour of trying.I have been coming to KEM for more than 20 years. Never before did I need papers or a pass to enter,“ said Jadhav , who often accompanies her alcoholic husband to the emergency ward.Implementation of the `pass system' to restrict the entry of relatives to two per patient has been at the centre of the resident doctors' ongoing stir. The doctors strongly believe it to be the best tool to keep mobs out of hospital premises, thus preventing assaults. But, apart from the logistical challenge of restricting a crowd of 10,00030,000 from entering the premises of municipal hospitals on a given day , it has left the authorities in a dilemma. Who will look after the patients?
“It's a painful reality in all public hospitals that relatives perform the job of attendants,“ said a senior professor from Sion Hospital. Right from running around with blood and urine samples, taking a patient for examinations, fetching reports, buying medicines to feeding, everything is done by relatives. “Is it a justifiable demand then to restrict the number of relatives before the hospital can promise a strong fleet of caregivers and helpers?“ said the doctor.
Resident doctors almost unanimously feel that the near absence of support staff in public hospitals not just aggravate their work burden, but also agitate patients' relatives. “In a crowded ward, we are often left to do petty things that are supposed to be the job of helpers.There have been situations when we had to leave a ward unguarded to fetch a report or a medicine,“ said a third year resident doctor. “The lack of quality support staff is a key reason why patients are often accompanied by 5-10 relatives. People who come from far-flung areas tend to come with relatives, friends and even neighbours so that they can take turns to attend to their loved one.“
All three civic medical colleges (KEM, Sion and Nair) put together have a strength of around 5,200 grade IV staffers.Of these, over 1,100 vacant posts are filled up by contractual employees. “No administration has managed to tackle the dual As-alcoholism and absen teeism--ailing this group of employees,“ said a Nair Hospital professor, who lamented that most are willing to offer their best service only when a VIP patient is admitted.
Pradeep Narkar, secretary , Municipal Mazdoor Union, won't accept any criticism. “Patients must understand that they will not get five-star treatment here. KEM or Sion gets more patients than all private hospitals in Mumbai put together,“ he said. “The hospitals have never increased the number of sanctioned posts despite the patient load increasing manifold over the years.“
KEM dean Dr Avinash Supe said caste requirements and several other factors often prove a hindrance in filling up posts. Dean of Nair Hospital Dr Ramesh Bharmal feels a healthy count of support staff could also prevent mob attacks as doctors are not left alone in the ward to defend themselves.