ECG Paper Shortage Hits Gandhi Hospital Services

Hyderabad:At 9 pm on Sunday, the emergency ward at Gandhi Hospital was witnessing the usual rush, with patients and attendants moving between departments for urgent tests. A white paper pasted on a pillar directed patients to ECG, ABG and 2D Echo services. However, patients undergoing ECGs are reportedly being asked to use their mobile phones to photograph the readings as no printed reports are being provided. In one instance, a 70‑year‑old unconscious patient was brought to the emergency ward on a stretcher and an ECG was conducted. However, the operator reportedly asked the patient's attendant to bring a smartphone so that the ECG reading could be photographed. When Deccan Chronicle asked why printed reports were not being provided, a nurse reportedly said there was no stock of ECG paper. 'Earlier we gave reports, but now we have no paper stock. It has been days that we are asking patients to click photographs on their phones,' she said. The lack of basic services has raised questions over accountability and supervision at the hospital, which did not have a full‑time superintendent for more than a month. Only on Monday evening did the government post Dr T. Usha Rani as superintendent of Gandhi Hospital. The government also relieved Dr Ch. Raja Kumari, additional DME, Gandhi Hospital, from her duties with immediate effect and directed her to report to the Director of Medical Education. A source said incidents involving patient attendants and staff have been repeatedly coming to light. In a recent incident, a security guard was accused of assaulting a patient attendant at the hospital. According to a police report, a 44‑year‑old man, whose daughter was admitted to Gandhi Hospital, was allegedly abused and hit on the head with a stick by a security guard on Sept. 3 after he tried to enter the female ward to hand over a sweater to his wife. He sustained a head injury and sought treatment at the hospital. Police said the matter was under enquiry. This came a day after an outsourced patient‑care staffer was seen allegedly behaving rudely with an attendant in a viral video, prompting the Directorate of Medical Education to seek an inquiry and an explanation from the hospital authorities. There are also allegations that some doctors are marking their attendance and leaving without attending to patients. 'Doctors are taking no responsibility and coming only to log in and leave the premises,' a source alleged. Adding to the concerns, suppliers to government hospitals have reportedly stopped supplying some critical medical equipment, surgical items and drugs under the Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme, alleging that their payments have been pending for nearly two years and no decision was taken on alternatives.