Cardiac patients at Rims suffer as surgeries put on hold for 3 months

Ranchi: Over 25 patients admitted to the Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) are waiting for surgeries for the past three months. The patients admitted to the superspeciality block of the hospital said infighting among the faculty members of the department has disrupted the OT services.However, the faculty members blamed the delay on the lack of consumables, delay in approvals, and the closure of operation theatre (OT) services by Dr Vinit Mahajan.
Bhairavi Devi from Chatra, who has been admitted under Dr Mahajan since June 3, said, “I have been waiting for a valve replacement surgery for over two-and-a-half months. The doctor delays it, citing one reason or the other.” Shivnath Ram of Palamu, who has been waiting for surgery since June 8, said, “I was told that I have to undergo a bypass surgery. I have been in hospital for over three months now but am yet to get a date. We are suffering because of infighting among doctors.”
A few patients on Monday met Rims medical superintendent Dr Hirendra Birua, seeking a solution to their woes. He assured them of resolving the stalemate.
Speaking to TOI, Dr Birua said, “I have been informed about the situation. I will call all the three faculty members of the department and issue a new roster so that pendency of cases is cleared. The management will conduct a work audit so that all those responsible for negligence in patientcare are taken to task.”
Dr Mahajan told TOI that the OT remained closed for a few days due to the non-availability of consumables. He had earlier accused teammate Dr Anshul Kumar of taking money from a patient, named Abdulla Malik. Refuting the charges, Kumar accused his HoD of spreading rumours.
Chandan Kumar, the additional director (Administration) of Rims, had then taken cognizance of the matter and took over administrative control of the department on August 3. He had also issued a roster, directing the doctors to carry out surgeries, but the doctors are yet to follow the directions.
Earlier, a patient from Bokaro, Tulsi Yadav, said they submitted a letter to Rims medical superintendent Dr Hirendra Birua’s office on August 24 for resuming surgeries, but to no avail.