Long queues of patients at govt hospital commonplace
Karam Prakash
Patiala, July 5
Long queues at Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital for OPD registration have become commonplace. Patients, including pregnant women, have to wait in queues for hours to get OPD slips. Standing for a long time further affects the health of patients, say experts.
High patient load
We have multiple registration counters. However, the patient load is very high. Since registration process has been computerised, it takes time to fill the required details. Dr Sandeep Kaur, Medical Supdt
The hospital administration, however, cites the high patient load as reason for the long queues. It also claims that there are multiple registration counters but a large number of patients reach there much before the registration process begins.
Meanwhile, patients at the hospital said they had to come before time because if they got late, then they had to leave without being seen by doctors. The OPDs close at 2 pm.
The patients suggested that the administration should deploy more staff at the counters to speed up the registration process.
One of the patients said, “The government should increase the number of registration counters during the morning hours when footfall is high. For the patients, especially pregnant women, to wait for a long time for registration is very tiring.”
Another patient said poor patients had to come to the government hospitals out of helplessness, not by choice.
It was learnt that patients, after getting OPD slips, have to again wait in long queues outside the doctors’ rooms.
Dr Sandeep Kaur, Medical Superintendent, Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital, said, “We have multiple registration counters. However, the patient load is very high. Since registration process has been computerised, it takes time to fill the required details.”
Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the hospital authorities had been asked to take remedial measures. She said, “We have asked the hospital to examine and find out the reasons for the problem.”
