Lack of infrastructure, absenteeism plague Ukl Hospital

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 8 : Critical lack of infrastructure, absenteeism and unauthorized staff substitution have been plaguing Ukhrul district hospital.
Carrying on its campaign of inspecting Government healthcare facilities, a team of the People’s United Youth Alliance (PUYA) today inspected Ukhrul District Hospital along with the Foothills Naga Coordinating Committee (FNCC) and media persons.        
The inspection team found the hospital struggling to cope with a large number of people coming for consultation, diagnosis and treatment on a daily basis while key medical personnel were missing from their posts.
The team found that a regular doctor and an Assistant Accountant had illegally hired external substitutes to perform their duties.
PUYA secretary general Longjam Abothe Meetei said that they were deeply concerned with the shortage of manpower and infrastructure seen at Ukhrul District  Hospital at a time when people of Ukhrul have to take long, circuitous bypass routes to reach Imphal for medical emergencies.
Out of 24 sanctioned posts of doctor, key departments remain empty. The hospital currently operates without a Nursing Superintendent, a Dermatologist, or a Psychiatrist.
Out of 33 sanctioned posts of staff nurse, only 10 are currently on active duty.
Shockingly, the majority of these 10 working nurses were found to be unauthorized substitutes hired privately by the actual appointees who failed to show up for work, Abothe said.
He condemned the practice of hiring substitutes, calling it a matter of "grave concern" and a severe violation of public trust.
The hospital does not have a CT scan machine and the existing Ultrasound machine is heavily restricted; authorities allegedly limit its use primarily to pregnant women and operate it only a few designated days a week.
If a patient is required to take a CT scan, he/she must go to Imphal, he said.
With the hospital suffering from acute shortage of staff, the hospital authority has been forced to independently hire 18 contract workers to keep the facility running, Abothe said.
Noting that the hospital regularly performs surgeries, the visiting team stressed the immediate necessity of establishing a fully functional blood bank at the facility.
"We are living in the century of Artificial Intelligence, yet Manipur’s healthcare sector remains utterly neglected and leaderless," Longjam Abothe Meetei stated.
He warned that the authorities' silence on the denial of basic healthcare rights to the public will no longer be tolerated.