Chandigarh: A surprise check at Kharar civil hospital late evening by Kharar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Gurmandar Singh resulted in shock to the SDM as there was no doctor in the mother-child care section. The nurses at the facility, which was inaugurated by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann last year, revealed that in the absence of doctors, they themselves conduct normal deliveries. The two doctors available for this unit work in the morning shift only. “We handle normal delivery cases and only call doctors if required at night. They come on call,” a contractual nurse told the SDM during checking.
Meanwhile, Harjit Singh, whose son was referred from Kurali hospital to Kharar civil hospital due to non-availability of blood, said that wheelchairs at the hospital were damaged due to which, he was forced to carry his son in his arms. The checking was done after SDM received multiple complaints of the hospital and also high rate of referrals to Phase-6 civil hospital or to Chandigarh government hospitals from Kharar civil hospital.
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When asked if any action would be taken against the doctors for letting the nurses do the delivery in their absence, SDM claimed to initiate appropriate action after a probe. “It was a general checking but we also received a few complaints and rather we wanted to know the reason of high number of cases referred to the other hospitals. The staff was found to be attentive and all the facilities were found to be in place except non-availability of any doctor in mother-child care section. They can’t allow any deliveries in their absence. We will take up the issue with the doctors in the morning”, SDM said.
