Bihar hospital provides dialysis facility but lacks basic facilities

Bihar has a small hospital, New Gardiner Road Hospital located near Income Tax roundabout-the only hospital in the state to provide dialysis facility. However, the hospital is an unfortunate state of affairs as it lacks other basic facilities-even a generator set and other resources to conduct an operation.

Shortage of staff is also a key issue. The hospital has no anesthetist, or an ICU. So, in spite of being located at a prime location in Bihar, the hospital is not equipped with basic facilities to perform a surgery. The sorry state of affairs is also highlighted by the fact that one dresser works in three shifts.

The hospital has been reporting three to five patients of renal failure at the facility on a daily basis. The dialysis facility runs of a PPP model, but still provides a very affordable treatment to the poor. The three dialysis, ultrasound and x-ray machines at the hospital can be availed at Rs2 as the registration fee.

"We have sent a proposal to the health department for some more space so that we can expand the three-bed dialysis facility to ten," said Dr Manoj Kumar Sinha, medical superintendent, New Gardiner Road Hospital. A renal failure patient needs dialysis every fourth-fifth day. The hospital has the required number of doctors against five sanctioned posts, but its superspecialty department faces doctors and staff crunch, as reported by TOI.

"We have only one doctor in each of the endocrinology and nephrology departments against the sanctioned posts of two. We urgently need a dresser as the hospital has only one who works in three shifts. We need two more, so that they can comfortably work in three different shifts. We perform dialysis, provide medical services to pregnant women but don't perform surgery as it needs regular electricity supply. We have power backup for 35 minutes only. In case of surgery, power cut can lead to severe consequences. We need a generator set," said Dr Sinha.

"The doctors and nurses here are capable of performing surgery, but we lack an anaesthetist," added Dr Sinha. The hospital also does not handle critical renal failure patients due to the lack of ICU facility, he said.