Ludhiana Ayurveda Department reels under severe staff shortage, disrupting surgeries

Ludhiana: The Ayurvedic hospital in Model Town, Ludhiana, is currently facing significant operational challenges due to a severe shortage of staff, particularly nurses. A surgeon at the hospital reported a sharp decline in the number of surgeries performed.

According to Dr Raman Khanna, the District Ayurveda Officer, a total of 19 posts for Ayurvedic Medical Officers (AMO) out of 64 remain vacant, a situation that has persisted for nearly two years. “Doctors get retired or transferred and the posts go on becoming vacant. A couple of doctors were up for retirement in August last year as well,” he said.

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The district has one hospital and 64 dispensaries, but many of these facilities are struggling with limited staff. Of these, 41 are managed by the Ayurveda Department and 23 by the National Health Mission (NHM). Following the staff shortage, doctors have been working on a rotational basis across various dispensaries. However, Dr. Khanna confirmed that a recruitment process is underway to fill the vacant positions.

In addition to the staffing crisis, there are serious concerns regarding the supply of medicines. Many hospitals under the Ayurveda Department have not received essential medicines since September 2023. As a result, doctors have been forced to purchase medicines out of their own pockets along with assistance from NGOs.

The department is also facing a critical shortage of nurses. Currently, all five staff nurse posts in the district are vacant, leaving the Ayurveda Department to rely on nurses deputed from the Health Department. However, even they were called back recently due to the resource crunch in the health department.

The shortage of nurses is particularly affecting the Ayurvedic hospital in Model Town, which has been struggling to keep up with surgeries.

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Speaking to Hindustan Times, Surgeon Dr Hemant Kumar said that the hospital has only two posts and saw around 10 surgeries every month earlier, but now the number has fallen to three or four. Dr Hemant revealed that there are no more surgeries for women as they are uncomfortable with the male paramedics. “To make up for the lack of nurses, pharmacists assisted me in many surgeries,” he said.