No electricity in Kotgarh Hospital after Snowfall, while nearby buildings have electricity: MLA Singha
Theog MLA asks ACS Health to conduct enquiry and fill posts within 15 days
Theog/Kotgarh: Shortage of doctors and other staff is adversely hitting the healthcare services in the Theog and Kotgarh region of the Shimla District. Theog MLA Rakesh Singha, in a letter to R.D Dhiman, ACS, Health & Family Welfare, narrated that besides shortage of staff, electricity supply adding to the agony of the patients.
Singha claimed that one lady carried her father to the Kotgarh Hospital, but due to disrupted power supply at the hospital, patient had to shift to the Rampur. He claimed
“I was disturbed to receive a call last night from a lady Indu who brought her ailing father Mast Ram Chauhan on her back walking a distance of 7km from Jarol to Kotgarh hospital and that also in knee-deep snow only to find that there was no electricity in the civil hospital. It would be understandable if all other buildings adjacent and surrounding to the hospital also did not have electricity. The civil hospital Kotgarh was the only building which did not have electricity on the night of 9th January when Indu brought her ailing father”
Singh further said that their suffering didn’t end here as the patient was referred to Civil Hospital Rampur and shockingly the 108 Ambulance was not available.
Rakesh Singha termed the present state of affair in Theog Hospital pathetic. He claimed the hospital is running without orthopaedic, medicine and skin medical officers and gynaecologist is on the verge of leaving. The hospital is facing an acute shortage of nursing, along with technician and pharmacist staff, Singha further added.
The position is no better in civil hospitals at Kumarsain and Kotgarh. There is no medical officer at PHC Kotighat for the last 15 years and at Narkanda again no medical officer is appointed there as well. The PHC Balag is running without a medical officer since the last two years, local legislature further wrote.
Rakesh Singha rued that the neo-liberal path of development is attacking all the services and the public health services are becoming bad to worse with each passing day. He advised ACS Health to hold enquiry into the serious lapses within 15 days. And cautioned people’s agitation if failed to do so.
