OPD to function only between 9 am and 1 pm

Mysore/Mysuru: Coupled with shortage of staff and deployment of the existing staff on COVID-19 treatment duty, the Out Patient Department (OPD) services has become the biggest casualty at K.R. Hospital in city. The OPDs now run only between 9 am and 1 pm. 

This State-run Hospital, also known as ‘Doddaspatre,’ since decades, has been the lifeline of thousands of people from Mysuru and also neighbouring villages and districts. Of the total 1,050 beds, 50 percent has been reserved for Coronavirus patients due to surge in cases. 

Accordingly, 500 beds are reserved for COVID patients in Surgical Block (Stone Block) and Medicine Department. The Hospital authorities have to keep 100 beds for nephro-urology, 30 beds for burns cases, 30 beds for dermatology, 30 beds for psychiatry, 50 beds for telemedicine, 20 beds for surgery and 90 beds for ophthalmology.

Along with this, they have to reserve beds for post-surgery cases, MICU, post-ICU, dialysis, chemotherapy for cancer patients and for other ailments. To provide treatment to all, the Hospital requires a good number of doctors, nurses and Group-D workers. Now, due to COVID-19 surge, doctors and other staff work in three shifts in 24 hours. Also, some staff have tested positive and are not coming to duty.

 Every day, around 300 swab samples are collected and 200 vaccinations are done at K.R. Hospital. Besides, doctors are working in District COVID Hospital and at the Trauma Care Centre. The K.R. Hospital has 200 doctors including 25 Professors, 50 Associate Professors, who work from morning till evening in the OPD.

Doctors opined that they were exhausted working in OPD, in-patient and COVID wards. They said they need to give preference to emergency cases like accidents, burnings and snakebite in OPD. Apart from this, there will be fresh admission of 30-50 cases daily. 

In view of shortage of doctors and nurses, coupled with steady inflow of COVID-19 patients, it is inevitable for the Hospital authorities to reduce the OPD timing from 9 am to 1 pm. People with normal illness may take treatment at home instead of coming to Hospital so that the doctors could attend to seriously ill patients. It may be recalled here that last year too, a similar step was taken during the Corona crisis.