Special officers to oversee its operation; Triaging and oxygen supply should be focal points
Collector Vivek Yadav kicked off an overhaul of the state’s oldest teaching hospital – the Government’s General Hospital, Guntur – by introducing a series of reforms.
Following major incidents in Tirupati and Anantpur, the reforms are expected to lead to changes in the administrative process and in the maintenance of the hospital.
At the end of a full review of how the GGH was working, the collector said that triaging should be increased and care should be taken that beds are only assigned to serious patients who are experiencing symptoms such as a sharp drop in SPO2 levels and high fever and incessant coughing .
Senior officials would be tasked with overseeing admission and discharge and preparing daily status reports on patients, while special officials would oversee the supply of oxygen, pressure and piping and conduct a daily audit of the oxygen supply. Qualified biomedical engineers take care of hygiene and other officials take care of safety.
“I urge all doctors and employees to carry out their tasks with the greatest care and urgency and to ensure that we have sufficient oxygen. Don’t give in to the pressures of admission and in any case refer to its merits. Only serious cases should be allowed in the intensive care unit. If the patient shows mild symptoms and recovers, they should be transferred to intensive care units after the consultation. It is better to advise patients on pronation positions and breathing exercises and to put up posters about these exercises, ”said Vivek Yadav.
A special drive should be run by the Guntur Municipal Corporation at the GGH to get rid of all unwanted furniture, rundown vehicles and junk, he said.
The GGH is one of the oldest teaching hospitals in the state with a bed capacity of 1,200 and is often full of patients from Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam and even West Godavari districts. Several new facilities have been added over the years, but cracks persist.
A lack of sanitation, security, biomedical technology, and mechanical engineers to maintain power and generators plagued the hospital for years. Food quality has not improved either, and the lack of waiting rooms has resulted in patients often sitting with patients under trees or on the wards.