Hospital administration dogged by myriad challenges

Bara Hindu Rao Hospital was touted as one of the ‘achievements’ of the BJP-led NDMC but a visit by Damini Nath reveals that the hospital is a liability, not a political asset.

A bad situation in Delhi’s busiest municipal hospital has been made worse by the number of patients thronging to the hospital and no addition to the capacity.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation is playing a rigged match, trying to give free and good quality treatment to over seven lakh patients every year at its 980-bed Bara Hindu Rao Hospital. Director of Hospital Administration Dr. D.K. Seth explained that on one hand the corporation cannot turn away any patients, and on the other, it cannot build more rooms.

“We have 980 beds and 643 doctors. It is an open challenge to other hospitals. No one has this kind of doctor-patient ratio, but we still have problems,” he said.

Dr. Seth said the civic body was working on rectifying the over-crowding and long waiting times. But, he added, some problems could not be helped.

“I agree that it is unacceptable that dogs are roaming the hospital, but animal welfare groups will accuse us of cruelty if we relocate the dogs. Besides, some patients feed the dogs, falsely believing that it will make their illness go away,” he added.

The hospital is adjacent to the Ridge in North Delhi’s Malkaganj, which means that no construction is allowed on the premises. “We can’t raise the walls to keep the dogs out or add more rooms to accommodate patients because of a Supreme Court ruling,” explained Dr. Seth.

The problem of multiple patients sharing beds is also here to stay for now.

The maternity ward has 225 beds, but around 400 pregnant women visit the OPD every day. Many of them are admitted, while a backlog of patients remains. Last year, the hospital saw an average of 22 births every day.

All it takes is Rs.5 in registration fee to avail of the free treatment for one month. The nominal charge coupled with the demographic reality of the area means that the doctors and the infrastructure are burdened.

“Our catchment area includes a large number of resettlement colonies and slums, which means a large amount of low-income families. Plus, we give 5,500 items for free. In maternity, for instance, no matter how many beds there are, there will be duplicity,” said Dr. Seth.

However, the corporation is in the process of making the hospital’s operations smoother. To make lines at the pharmacy shorter, medicines for smaller OPDs line ophthalmology and dental will be given outside the doctors’ rooms. “This will free up space in the holding area for the main pharmacy on the ground floor,” said Dr. Seth.

Recently, secondary registrations were scrapped and now doctors have computers to enter the details of all patients into a centralised system.