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| Department of radiotherapy in VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla. Telegraph picture |
Sambalpur, June 16: Cancer patients admitted to the male ward of the radiotherapy department in Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital are facing problems because of negligence by the concerned authority.
The department’s male and female wards have 24 beds. On an average, 18 beds always found to be occupied. Patients from western Orissa and Chhatisgarh depend on this hospital for treatment.
The male ward has five window air-conditioners but all of them are non-operational. As the air-conditioners had been installed at the time of construction, the ward has no ventilation facility. Therefore, patients have to suffer.
Moreover, the ward has only two doctors instead of the sanctioned strength of four.
“For the patients who undergo chemotherapy, temperature in recuperation rooms is important. Owing to the rays used for treatment, the internal temperature of the patient’s body automatically increases, and they need air-conditioners,” said Sabita Majhi, assistant professor of the department.
“But as the air-conditioners in the male ward are lying defunct, patients admitted here have to face severe problem,” she said.
“We have apprised to the authority of the problem, but so far, no action has been taken,” she added.
However, superintendent of the medical college and hospital Guna Sagar Das said: “The general electric department has been told to repair the air-conditioners. As for the vacancy of doctors, we have already sent a requirement statement to the government.”