Kullu: Wards short of beds, patients being treated in corridors

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, June 28

Patients are being treated in corridors of Regional Hospital Kullu as most of the wards are running out of beds due to overcrowding. Long queues of patients can be seen at the registration counters and OPDs.

The medicine and orthopaedic departments are the worst-hit as nearly 250 patients visit these every day.

Doctors are attributing the surge in patients experiencing viral, joint and back pain to the change in weather. There are 80 beds in the medicine ward and all are occupied, forcing doctors to treat other patients in the corridors.

Dr Naresh Chand, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said teams of specialist doctors are working continuously in the medicine and orthopaedic wards. He said despite the surge in numbers, every patient is getting treatment.

Apart from Kullu district, residents of some parts of Mandi and Lahaul also visit the hospital for medical treatment.

According to information, the hospital was upgraded in 2015 when the number of beds was increased from 200 to 300. Similarly, the strength of medical staff was increased from 27 to 37. However, the present staff is overburdened due to the increasing number of patients.

Rajeev, a resident of Kullu, said a 100-bed maternal and child health section of hospital was inaugurated in June 2022 for which additional staff have not been notified. The section remains fully occupied with patients, he added.

Rajeev said in view of the surge in the number of patients, there is a need to make additional arrangements and increase the number of beds in the hospital.

Abhishek Rai, a social activist, said, “Kullu district is extremely backward in terms of health facilities and there is an urgent need for a medical college in the region.”

He said, “Lakhs of tourists visit Kullu-Manali, but the nearest medical college is at Ner Chowk, which is about 125 km from Manali and it takes more than three hours to reach there.”

Abhishek said around 7 lakh people are dependent on the regional hospital. He said there is no MRI facility in government hospitals of the district and even getting an ultrasound done is a Herculean task. He said ultrasound machines in most of the health institutions in Kullu are lying defunct in the absence of radiologists.

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