In a concerning development, the largest government hospital in Chhattisgarh has stopped open-heart surgeries for four months due to shortage of reagents. This has left many economically weaker patients in Chhattisgarh’s Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Hospital in huge trouble, forcing them to seek expensive private healthcare.
Reagents, which are used in tests before and during the surgery, are in short supply at the hospital in Raipur, the capital of one of the most impoverished states in the country.
The poor who depend on government healthcare are at the receiving end of this crisis.
Madan Gopal, a security guard from Korba district, has been running from one hospital to another for his surgery. His family eventually took loans to treat him at a private hospital.
“We were referred to Raipur AIIMS, and then further referred to Ambedkar Hospital. But we were told that surgeries are on hold there. After another visit to AIIMS, we were told the waiting period was too long for my father’s condition, so we are now struggling to arrange funds for private treatment,” Mr Gopal’s son Ankush Kumar said, referring to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Hospital performs 30-40 heart surgeries a month, but the shortage of reagents in the advanced cardiac department has been crippling.
“Without the reagent, the heart-lung machine, which keeps the patient alive during the procedure, cannot be properly monitored, and the patient might not survive the surgery,” said Dr KK Sahu, head of department of advanced cardiac.
The state government has said the situation will be resolved within a week.
“The necessary equipment has been approved for purchase. The old system is being replaced. The dean will be authorised to buy equipment worth up to Rs 25 lakh, with emergency purchases of up to Rs 5 lakh,” state Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal said.
While the government claims to provide better healthcare in public hospitals, the halt of surgeries at Ambedkar Hospital due to reagent shortages raises serious concerns. If such disruptions can occur in the capital, Raipur, it’s alarming to consider the state of facilities in other parts of Chhattisgarh, health experts have said.