State of Government and Private Hospitals in India
18-Dec-2011
Editors Desk

Yesterday late afternoon, a young emergency physician we know, updated his facebook status,

PROUD TO BE AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN
Door to ECG 1 Min
Door to ANTIPLATLETS 2 Min
Door to STATIN 2 Min
Door to BALLOON INFLATION / Primary PTCA 37 Minutes ... in peripheral centre.
For a ACS patient with ACUTE EXTENSIVE ANTERIOR WALL MI ...
am proud be an Emergency physician, with the patient from ECG to BALLOON INFLATION, supported him, has seen pain in his face at first and thanking smile at the end ..vat else you want.

He worked at a small 6 bed emergency department of a private hospital in India. The good feeling that quality emergency care is finally here was, however, short lived. Times of India carried special reports today on the state of hospitals in India. Its worth a casual reading to get your bearings right before this year ends.

- EmergencyMedicine.in
______________________________

On December 9, a shortcircuit caused a fire in the basement of the super-specialty AMRI Hospital in Dhakuria, a suburb of Kolkata. A series of acts of omission and commission led to an indescribable tragedy - 93 people, 86 of them patients, died of suffocation...
Times of India - ON LIFE SUPPORT

In case you are unaware of this fire incident,
Kolkota - 89 killed in AMRI hospital fire, six board members arrested - NDTV
Kolkota hospital fire - What went wrong? - NDTV
______________________________

Experts say staff shortage is endemic in public hospitals. Corruption and apathy make matters worse. In contrast, private hospitals maintain a good doctor-patient ratio and a certain quality of treatment.
Times of India - Wait up to two years for a bed
______________________________

Sighting a doctor is rarer still, say villagers. Forget emergency services, they are hardly able to run the OPD regularly.
Times of India - No pills, no doc & no pharmacist
______________________________

Forget about sophisticated equipment, my department does not even have a basic nasal endoscope . We function under such primitive conditions in an age where medical science has advanced so much. It is frustrating but we are helpless.
Times of India - Need X-ray? It will take months
______________________________

But here was this man who thought waiting for another vehicle was better than taking his father to a government hospital.
Times of India - Hospital out of anesthesia, surgeries on hold
______________________________


.