Shillong Civil Hospital is yet again in the news for the wrong reasons. This time for not taking an emergency case as it should be handled – with the speed and efficacy that is needed to help save lives. This is especially so in cases of motor car or other accidents requiring emergency measures that could make the difference between life and death. The establishment there comprising doctors, nurses and helpers have been blamed time and again of complete lack of empathy while dealing with patients and adopting a haughty attitude because most patients come from the underprivileged sections of society. The word ‘emergency’ seems to have taken on a different meaning in this hospital created to meet the needs of the poor who cannot afford to go to a private hospital for treatment and medicines. Civil hospital is also where people are to report to in cases involving accidents caused by criminal negligence which end up a police case.
The case of the two students from the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) who were run over by a speeding vehicle driven by a drunken man behind the wheels, just near the University gate has once again brought the focus on Civil Hospital and its lack of critical care facilities. Eye-witness accounts of how the ambulance arrived at NEHU without the necessary assistance and life- saving equipment to deal with deep cuts and wounds that bleed, expose a complete lack of professionalism Doctors and nurses are aware that urgency and efficiency with which accident victims are handled could make that critical difference between life and death. So why do they fail in their primary duty? That the patients had to be shifted to a private hospital at the insistence of the family members and the students who had accompanied the accident victims, informs that they had lost trust in the manner in which the Civil Hospital staff handled the case. Their complaints that the student with a deep head injury was allowed to bleed for an hour before dressing was applied is shocking.
That the Civil Hospital staff had the audacity to say they had too many patients to handle and therefore could not handle the accident cases with the alacrity they deserved shows the lengths to which service has degenerated in this Government run hospital. If this is the case in the state capital the plight of patients in public health centres and sub-centres beyond Shillong would be worse.Everything boils down to lack of accountability and a couldn’t care less attitude which is the hallmark of all government run institutions. Surprise checks are unheard of so the staff take their duties casually and without a sense of responsibility, knowing full well that no action can be taken against them because they are permanent staff. That’s the bane of government service in this state and country. People continue to get their salaries whether or not they produce outcomes! It’s time to hold the government run hospitals accountable through a social audit process and that action be taken against errant staff! After all the salaries of all who work in government run institutions are paid for from the public exchequer. Hence, they are accountable to the public.
