Rourkela Sub Divisional Railway Hospital faces Inadequate Infrastructure, Staff Shortage
Rourkela: The sub-divisional
railway hospital of South Eastern Railway (SER) located at Bondamunda in
Rourkela is grappling with a severe lack of infrastructure and insufficient
medical staff, leaving it unable to provide even basic healthcare services to
the nearly 8,000 railway employees and their families who rely on it.
The hospital, designed to
serve around 6,000 SER employees stationed at Bondamunda and Rourkela along
with their families, has a capacity of 65 beds but falls drastically short in
delivering adequate medical care, reports The New Indian Express. According to sources, the
hospital lacks specialist doctors and a functional pathological testing
facility. Currently, there are only three MBBS doctors available, who not only
handle patient care and emergencies but also juggle administrative responsibilities
on a rotational basis.
The hospital’s equipment
is outdated and inadequate for modern medical needs. The X-ray machine is old
and unreliable, and the facility lacks in-house pathological testing. For basic
pathological tests, a private technician visits once a day to collect samples
for external testing, leaving no provision for urgent tests, reports the Daily.
Moreover, the hospital’s
operation theatre remains unusable due to the absence of a surgeon, forcing the
immediate referral of emergency and accident cases to other hospitals such as
Ispat General Hospital (IGH), Rajasthan Seva Sadan, and CWS Hospital. A private
gynaecologist provides consultation services only on a case-by-case basis,
further highlighting the hospital’s limitations.
According to the Daily, D
Chandrasekhar Rao, the secretary of the Bondamunda unit of SER Men’s Congress
(SERMC), expressed concerns over the hospital’s inadequate staffing and
facilities. The hospital, which is supposed to have seven doctors as per the
sanctioned strength, is currently managed by only three.
Rao emphasized that
without advanced medical facilities, the hospital is only able to treat common
ailments like fever, cold, cough, blood pressure issues, and blood sugar
fluctuations. During a visit by the principal chief medical officer from SER
headquarters in Kolkata, the staff urgently requested the deployment of more
doctors and an upgrade in facilities to better serve the community.
The jurisdiction of this
sub-divisional railway hospital extends to the entire districts of Sundargarh
and Jharsuguda, amplifying the need for more comprehensive medical services.
Former Union Minister and ex-Rourkela MLA, Dilip Ray, recently met with Union
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to request an upgrade of the hospital’s
facilities. Ray reported receiving a positive assurance from the minister, who
acknowledged the critical situation and promised to address the hospital’s
shortcomings. Additionally, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Chakradharpur
Division of SER, Arun Jatoh Rathod, conducted a recent visit to assess the
hospital’s conditions and needs.
