Striving for quality Healthcare

Jamshedpur, July 8: Winds of change are sweeping through the wards of Tata Main Hospital (TMH).

From introducing state-of-the-art equipment and male nurses to ensuring better hygiene, TMH has been patient-friendly all the way. To top it all, the hospital is now mulling cashless treatment in the form of credit card facility. According to general manager (medical services) Dr T.P. Madhusudanan, TMH will start accepting credit cards from month-end. “The management is already negotiating with major banks and deals will be sealed by end of July,” he said.

The hospital’s policy refuses patients (read non-Tata Steel employees) admission without an initial deposit. Patients are also required to settle bill at the time of discharge, as treatment charges often exceed the deposit amount.

Madhusudanan pointed out that credit card facility would ease the anxiety of having liquid cash during emergency admission or at the time of discharge. More so, because TMH has recently increased its ICU and CCU admission fee from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 and general admission fee from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000.

If it has jacked up charges, the hospital management is also on an overdrive to purchase state-of-the-art equipment. Madhusudanan said Tata Steel had sanctioned Rs 2.9 crore for the purpose. “We have already installed an image intensifier at the operating theatre. Orders for two more have been placed. We also need an ultrasound imaging machine and neuro-surgical gadgets,” he said.

In another smart step to beat the crunch of nursing staff, the hospital has appointed 18 male nurses, all science graduates specially trained in Bangalore. “There was an urgent need to bolster the strength of our nursing staff. We have 350 female nurses instead of 375. So, we inducted 18 male nurses on a year’s contract. They will man the male wards,” he told The Telegraph.

Though Tata Steel runs its own nursing school, many leave the hospital midway. “Female nurses are appointed for a five-year term, but some get better opportunities. So, a crunch is obvious. But we have successfully met the challenge,” the general manager said.

Madhusudanan maintained that maximum attention was being given to the children’s ward. “Hygiene and better dietary services in the crèche is on our priority list,” he said.

Plans are also afoot to refurbish the old TMH building and add more floors to it while space for a disaster ward has been identified at Jehangir Gandhi Memorial Hospital’s Ward 1B.