No backup, certain death, Odisha’s top govt hospital admits in court

Bhubaneswar, Aug 22 (UNI) The lack of infrastructure and manpower in the cardiothoracic vascular surgery wing of SCB Medical College & Hospital (SCBMCH), Cuttack — the state’s largest government-run healthcare facility — has come under judicial scrutiny, with hospital authorities candidly admitting before the Orissa High Court that patients undergoing surgery face the threat of death due to the absence of critical life-support system.

In an affidavit filed before a division bench of Justice S K Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh, SCBMCH Medical Superintendent Prof. (Dr.) Goutam Kumar Satpathy stated: “There is availability of one heart-lung machine, one heater cooler machine and one dual-chamber pacemaker and in the event one of the machines becoming non-functional during operation, the patient will die, as there is no backup.”
The affidavit elaborately presented deficiencies in the cardiology department at Odisha’s largest hospital in terms of daily footfall of patients. The hospital, widely regarded as the lifeline of the health service network, records on an average footfall of 6,000 to 7,000 OPD patients every day.

For almost a decade, no equipment was procured for ‘open heart surgery’. For the first time instruments and equipment were procured in 1985 and thereafter in the year 2015. After that there was no supply of major and vital instruments and equipment despite repeated communications and requests made by the head of the department.

Besides, there is an acute shortage of manpower both in Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) and ECMO Unit of Cardiology Department, the affidavit revealed.
The hospital also suffers from acute manpower shortages in both the CTVS and ECMO units. Essential instruments such as intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP), additional heart-lung machines, heater-cooler machines, and dual-chamber pacemakers remain unavailable.

Although the department has been submitting requisitions for new instruments since 2017-18, no significant supplies have been made. Out of 46 equipment items sought for the CTVS department, only 20 have been delivered so far, while 26 are still pending.

The court took strong exception to the State’s apathy. In its observations, the division bench remarked: “The court noted with dismay the patent lack of communication and coherence between different wings of the Health Department, which has evidently resulted in non-supply of essential equipment, endangering the lives of patients.

Such lackadaisical attitudes need to be addressed on an emergent basis, and hopefully necessary corrective steps in this regard shall be taken keeping in view the welfare of the patients.