Mohali ESI Hospital needs renovation

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, February 22

The Mohali ESI hospital, on which nearly two lakh poor employees/workers of the area are dependent, is itself crying for attention. 

The 30-bedded hospital has an ambulance but no driver; an ultrasound machine, but no radiologist. “The X-ray machine has also been out of order. Besides, the 28-year-old hospital building needs renovation and repair. An estimated expenditure of Rs 85 lakh was put up to the authorities concerned for the renovation of the building around two years ago. Ours repeated requests and reminders have failed to move the authorities so far”, said the staff at 

the hospital. 

“There is no sanctioned post of a driver here. The ambulance has been lying dysfunctional for the past several months. Similarly, we have advanced ultrasound machine but it is lying wrapped due to non-availability of a radiologist”, said the staff. 

The hospital has an eye specialist but no microscope. “So the eye operations are being conducted at the Civil Hospital at Kharar”, said Dr Anil Joshi, the Senior Medical Officer at the hospital. 

The SMO claimed that the hospital has at least seven specialists in different fields. “We have appropriate medical and paramedical staff but no proper infrastructure”, admitted Dr Joshi. 

The hospital’s SMO has power to spend mere Rs 500 per day if there is a need to purchase some medicines from the market. 

According to the hospital’s staff, the footfall here was between 500 and 700 per day on an average. The hospital caters to nearly two lakh poor employees/workers in the area. “We also get patients being referred from our ESI dispensaries at Kharar, Bhankarpur, Dera Bassi, Lalru, Chanalon, Aasro, Noho and Rajpura”, said Dr Joshi. 

He added that due to improper infrastructure, they have to refer the patients to the government hospitals in Chandigarh or other private hospitals that are on their panel.

“We contributed from our own pockets several times to make the system run here”, said doctors.