Haryana: Govt hospitals not in pink of health

Tribune News Service

Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Chandigarh, March 19

The government hospitals at Nuh and Charkhi Dadri don’t have the facilities of MRI, CT scan, cathlab, dialysis and chemotherapy.

The hospitals of Narnaul, Jhajjar, Fatehabad and Bahadurgarh have only the facility of dialysis. The hospitals at Ambala City and CM’s home district Karnal only have CT scan. There are no MRI, cathlab and chemotherapy facilities here too.

The BJP-JJP government submitted these facts during the Vidhan Sabha’s session in a reply to an unstarred question by Mullana’s Congress MLA Varun Chaudhary on the list of government hospitals having facilities of MRI, CT scan, cathlab, dialysis and chemotherapy with adequate doctors and technicians as on January 31.

In the list submitted before the House, of 24 government hospitals, 19 have no chemotherapy facility, 20 cathlab and 19 MRI, four CT scan and five dialysis facility.

Only the hospitals at Ambala Cantonment, which falls in the constituency of Health Minister Anil Vij, Faridabad and Panchkula have all these facilities.

Not just that, in a reply to another question by Safidon’s Congress MLA Subhash Gangoli, the state submitted that at Safidon’s Civil Hospital, there is no doctor. All sanctioned posts — two of senior medical officer, 11 of medical officers, one of dental surgeon and two of nursing sisters — are vacant. There is no dental assistant-cum-mechanic, dental hygienist, radiographer, ECG technician, operation theatre assistant, ophthalmic assistant and multipurpose health worker (female) too at the hospital.

“The Civil Hospital doesn’t serve the people. I have hired two buses that take people from Pilukhera and Safidon blocks to Khanpur’s medical college for treatment,” said Gangoli.

On complete lack of facilities, Charkhi Dadri’s Civil Surgeon Dr Sudarshan Panwar said, “We have told the government about the issue. We have been assured that specialists will be provided. Once specialists arrive, these facilities will start soon.”

“People from Nuh go to Nalhar medical college that has some facilities,” said Nuh Civil Surgeon Dr Surender Yadav.

MLA Chaudhary said, “The BJP government had promised these facilities to the people of Haryana. Even during the Covid period when these facilities were required the most, the people suffered. On the other hand, the government has spent Rs 68.05 crore from 2019-22 under Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Municipal Committees on beautification projects. The government has misplaced priorities.”