November 07, 2007	Wednesday	Shawwal 25, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Nov 6: Shortage of nursing, paramedic and other staff has dogged the Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) for years and the burden is written large on the faces of existing staff as the number of patients continues to grow with each passing day.

It would sound incredible but the biggest government-run hospital in the city has not seen induction of new staff since 1991 — even when the number of patients it treats has grown four times in the meantime.

Data gathered by Dawn revealed that in 1991 the hospital had only 101 nurses against the sanctioned strength of 595 nurses for its 570 beds. Though 115 more beds have been added since, the number of remains the same 101 till today.

What burden that puts on the nurses becomes evident when one learns that the rules of Pakistan Nursing Council require four nurses for every 10 beds, one head nurse for 25 beds, and one deputy superintendent nurse for 100 beds.

In effect only 32 nurses are found present in the hospital at any given time as many remain on leave and others are off duty waiting for their shift to begin - a grim picture in the context of the 80 per cent bed occupancy in the RGH.

Increase in the number of patients at RGH can be proved from the fact that in 1999 about 273,858 patients visited its Out Patient Department (OPD), 119,648 emergency cases were registered and some 14,533 patients were admitted through emergency and 8,031 through OPD that year. The number of patients visiting OPD in 2006 was recorded as 422,598, the emergency cases were 208,944 and admissions through emergency were 52,252 while 10,858 patients were admitted through OPD.

The overburdened nurses leave the hospital as soon as they find a suitable working place, an official source told Dawn. Only those nurses who have their families settled in Rawalpindi are compelled to continue their job at RGH, the source added.

Even in the presence of School of Nursing, a teaching institute, the shortage of the staff continues to hit the hospital, he said. As soon as nurses complete their studies they leave the hospital for better places, he added.

The hospital also faces the shortage of paramedics, doctors and other non-medical staff that include ward boys, drivers and peons. The hospital has been hiring such staff time and again on contract bases to overcome the shortcoming but the contract staff did never fulfil their terms as they always searched for better facilities.

When contacted RGH Additional Medical Superintendent Administration Dr Fayyaz Ahmed Khan confirming the dearth of staff said they had written to Management Board, comprising RGH, Holy Family Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital and Rawalpindi Medical College, and provincial health ministry for the early provision of the required staff.

He said proposal for 103 nurses, 16 head nurses, 13 doctors, 15 ward boys and for other non-medical staff was sent to health department for the final approval. Other staff includes speech therapists, social medicine officers, drivers and administrative personnel. These recommendations have included in annual schedule of new expenditures of the hospital, he said.

Institute of Paramedics has been established in the hospital to obtain trained paramedical staff, the administrative officer said. Classes in the institute for dispensers, operation theatre assistants, laboratory assistants and dental hygienists will commence on November 10 this year. Boys with not less than 50 per cent marks in matriculation with science subjects are eligible for different courses, he added.