The tragic state of ’Government Lady Goschen Hospital in Mangalore city’

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 21, 2014: The  plight of Government Lady Goschen Hospital in Mangalore city is simply pathetic. With just three doctors and 22 nurses to take care of 260 and more patients. The hospital statistics show it gets an average of 1,000 - 1,300 inpatients a month.

The 260 bed hospital functions in a congested old building after a portion of the building was demolished to facilitate the construction of a new one in 2011. The hospital is the only ray of hope for poor pregnant women from five taluks of Dakshina Kannada, plus Udupi, Kodagu, Chikmagalur, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and Kasaragod districts where the situation may be worse.

The only help is that the hospital gets the services of 32 nursing staff from the Kasturba Medical College. In addition, the hospital has 12 nurses appointed through National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) exclusively for neonatal care. The hospital has only three doctors including a medical superintendent. The posts of resident medical officer, pediatrician and anesthesiologist remain vacant. The number of staff in the hospital is meager compared to the specifications stipulated by the national public health rules. However, the hospital is successful in showing a declining trend in neonatal deaths in the past six years.

The hospital, which recorded 237 neonatal deaths (6,326 deliveries) in 2008, has showed a declining trend by reducing the number of death to 101(5,409 deliveries) in 2013 despite the fact that it lack infrastructure and sufficient staff. As on June 30, 2014, of the 3,614 deliveries, the hospital recorded 52 neonatal deaths and the number of deaths in June was only four. The number of neonatal death was 100 in 2012, 109 in 2011, 127 in 2010, 157 in 2009 and 237 in 2008. However, no cases of medical negligence have been registered in the hospital so far.

Doctors and staff suggest that the situation can be improved further if sufficient number of staff were appointed and necessary infrastructure was provided. Minister for health and family UT Khader had admitted recently that in Karnataka the patient - nurse ratio in government hospitals is 1:40. However, this government hospital in the coastal city has only 66 nurses for 260 patients.

Hospital medical superintendent Dr. Shakunthala MM told TOI that currently there is a requirement of at least 135 nurses for the hospital. She says that the increased awareness on malnutrition and the initiatives under the NRHM help reduce in the number of neonatal deaths in the region.   "Pre-term deliveries and underweight of newborn are the major reasons for the neonatal deaths. However, NRHM initiatives and the role of anganwadis play major role in lowering the neonatal deaths," Dr Shakunthala said.

"We have often requested and reminded the government to provide sufficient number of staff for the hospital. We need at least 135 nursing staff for 260 beds as per national public health rules. We hope that situation will improve with the opening of new building, which is expected to complete by the end of the year,"  it was stated.