HOW an administrative inefficiency can turn a reputed hospital into a wasteland could be exemplified by the Holy Family Hospital. Despite having all facilities and equipment to provide standard medical treatment to all, including the poor, Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital has been suffering due to low patient turnover and malpractices going on for quite sometime. Often the physicians themselves find preferable to transfer patients to other places knowing of the mismanagement they are facing. While a large section of people are deprived of medical facilities due to shortage of infrastructure, costly medical equipment, drugs and diagnostic services at the Hospital are a big disappointment for the medical students. Surely it is sad to see this popular and dependable hospital cannot be trusted for good treatment and care.
Most of the seats at the college out of 646 seats remain vacant ironically exposing the illness of the Hospital itself. However, the Hospital director declining that irregularities occurred, said it runs well. But the Chairman of the Hospital’s governing body Prof MS Akbar admitted the malpractice of the doctors. The Hospital, established in 1953, once remained full and patients had to wait for getting admission, but the situation has reversed.
It is understandable if the doctors refer the patients to other private hospitals for proper treatment. Whether doctors do it for commission needs to be investigated. We find it difficult to believe.
Attendants of the admitted patients expressed utter dissatisfaction over the facilities provided as the treatment quality of the Hospital is not standard. The authorities of the Hospital do not pay salary to the officials regularly. The mismanagement worsened the Hospital’s condition that resulted in their financial insufficiency to pay salary in time. With more than 20 departments, a huge infrastructure, and a medical college in the city’s downtown, it has been facing acute financial crisis, a grotesque situation to all.
The Hospital was serving the nation for the last 61 years with good name and reputation but due to management failure, unwanted interference and the disappointed physicians, the service given by the Hospital in the last few years has dramatically fallen. Though the Hospital is equipped with an Intensive Care Unit, latest biotech apparatus, operation theaters, but nothing can help it to recover from the crisis of mismanagement.
The Holy Family Hospital and College must be saved by organising efficient management without delay.
