OPD Struggling with Severe Shortage of Ultrasound Specialists, Only One Hundred Patients Examined Daily
Purnia: The degradation of health services and the shortage of doctors at the Purnia Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC Purnia)—hailed as the largest healthcare center in Bihar's Seemanchal region—have once again become a matter of serious discussion. Patients are facing long struggles for essential and basic diagnostic tests like ultrasounds in the hospital's Outdoor Patient Department (OPD) and Radiology Department. Due to a severe shortage of ultrasound specialists at the hospital, only a maximum of 100 patients can be examined daily, whereas the number of patients arriving from remote rural areas reaches the hundreds.
Long Queues Outside the Ultrasound Room and Patients' Agony
A massive crowd of patients gathers in the OPD premises of the Purnia Medical College hospital right from the morning. This includes pregnant women, elderly individuals suffering from critical illnesses, and youths. After an ultrasound is prescribed by a doctor, patients are forced to stand in lines for hours, but due to the shortage of specialist physicians, more than half of the patients standing in the queue are forced to return disappointed without undergoing the test.
Patients visiting the hospital daily state that even after joining the queue early in the morning, when their turn does not arrive, they are either forced to return the next day or turn to private diagnostic centers (private ultrasound centers) by spending from their own pockets. Getting tests done at expensive rates outside proves to be financially agonizing for poor and middle-class patients.
Severe Shortage of Specialists: The Main Cause
According to sources from the hospital management and the health department, postings at Purnia Medical College are vastly lower compared to the sanctioned posts for doctors and especially radiologists.
Limited Capacity: The pressure of conducting ultrasounds for the entire hospital's OPD, indoor (admitted patients), and emergency cases rests on the shoulders of just one or two available specialists.
Daily Quota: Due to an overwhelming workload and technical limitations, it is only possible to perform ultrasounds for a maximum of 100 patients a day at the hospital, whereas the total number of patients getting slips at the OPD runs into thousands.
Non-utilization Despite Having Machines: Despite modern diagnostic machines and equipment being available at the hospital, they cannot be operated to full capacity due to a lack of skilled human resources (specialist doctors).
Mounting Difficulties for Pregnant Women and Critical Patients
The worst impact of this problem is falling on pregnant women (Antenatal Care - ANC). Getting timely ultrasounds during pregnancy is extremely vital for the health of both mother and child. However, risks often escalate due to the failure to get timely scans. Similarly, patients suffering from stomach pain, liver, kidney, or other internal critical ailments are also forced to wait for weeks for accurate reports.
Response of Hospital Administration and Health Department
When senior hospital officials were spoken to in this regard, they acknowledged that the shortage of radiologists is a severe problem. Officials stated that higher authorities and the state health department have been informed about this issue on multiple occasions. Demands for the posting of new doctors, especially radiologists, are continuously being made to the department.
The administration also claims that even amidst limited resources, every possible effort is being made to provide testing facilities on a priority basis to as many needy and emergency patients as possible.
If basic diagnostic services continue to be disrupted in a major institution like the Purnia Government Medical College and Hospital, the general public will not be able to reap the full benefits of government healthcare schemes. Local citizens, social workers, and patients' relatives have demanded from the government and the health minister that vacant positions for specialist doctors at Purnia Medical College be filled as soon as possible so that poor patients can find relief and be freed from the clutches of expensive private centers.
