In a surprise visit to Government Rajindra Hospital here, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann advised the hospital administration not to restrict the facility to referrals only.
There is no need to refer patients to PGIMER-Chandigarh from Rajindra hospital, a tertiary healthcare institute in the Malwa region.
There were complaints from patients and attendants at the emergency ward about the lack of medicines and beds; rude behavior of the doctors; and unsatisfactory treatment.
The attendant Manpreet Kaur of Bathinda claimed that she had brought her ill mother to the hospital, but the on-duty doctor advised her to locate an unoccupied bed for her mother (Jasmail Kaur) on her own.
Later, in a conversation with The Tribune, Manpreet said: “Doctors failed to intervene in a timely manner.”. After a few hours, my mother passed away.”
The CM was told by another patient that there were not enough medicines in the hospital. A chemist shop outside the hospital sold me medicines worth Rs 650.”
In spite of its status as a tertiary healthcare institution, Government Rajindra Hospital has been experiencing acute shortages of medicines for long.
Interacting with the media, the CM said he had come to address the grievances of the people. “We will improve the infrastructure and provide medicines to the hospital as soon as possible,” Mann said.