2 years on, new ICU at Chandigarh's GMCH remains non-functional due to staff shortage
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Chandigarh: A newly constructed intensive care unit (ICU) at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Chandigarh has remained non-functional for over two years since its completion, raising concerns about critical care capacity in the region.
The facility, intended to bolster the hospital's intensive care capabilities significantly, was only recently utilised as an isolation ward, admitting an H3N2 patient this week.
The GMCH administration attributed the prolonged delay in making the ICU operational to a severe shortage of essential ancillary staff and nurses. While the sophisticated equipment procured for the new unit was reportedly repurposed and distributed among other existing ICUs within the hospital, the critical lack of human resources prevented the dedicated unit from becoming fully functional as an ICU.
Prof GP Thami, medical superintendent, GMCH, acknowledged the staffing challenge. "We have a shortage of nursing staff, and the recruitment shall start once Panjab University conducts the entrance examination," he said.
Sources within the hospital indicate that the four-bedded ICU was initially designated for the newly established cardiothoracic surgery department. However, its operation ceased shortly after a senior doctor from that department departed.
Prof Sanjeev Palta, head of the anaesthesiology department, elaborated on the severity of the staffing crisis: "We have a deficit of 400 nursing staff, and according to ICU norms, eight nursing staff are required per day, shift-wise, excluding other ancillary staff, which is also deficient.
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The non-operational status of such a critical unit comes at a time when hospitals across the region are already struggling with high demand for ICU beds, often resulting in long waiting lists for patients in need of intensive care.
A staff member voiced frustration, questioning the planning: "When the ICU was made, why were the posts not filled simultaneously? How could the proposal of the ICU be accepted in the absence of sufficient staff?" The cost of establishing an ICU runs into crores, with daily operational costs in private hospitals reaching lakhs, underscoring the significant investment lying dormant.
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