PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, April 26: The only state-run Critical Care Unit (CCU) at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences has failed to optimally utilise the centre due to the manpower crunch. The CCU which was started with a capacity of 50 beds in July 2019, is currently undergoing treatment on 15 beds.
Acknowledging the fact, the Head of Critical Care at RIMS Dr Pradeep Bhattacharya said that there are only 6 nurses in the critical care unit whose capacity was 50 beds because of the manpower crunch the capacity has been reduced to 15 as of now.
“Ideally every bed should have one nurse in the ICU but at present, 1-2 nurses look after the patients in one shift where 15 patients have been admitted. The task of nurses is challenging as at critical care, it is always a matter of life and death,” he added.
According to the officials of the department, the beds are decreasing due to a lack of manpower. An employee of RIMS said that earlier, 26 employees were working in the critical care unit, but due to non-payment of salary for the last nine months, the maximum staff has stopped coming to work.
He added that the employees have requested the RIMS management for their salary many times, and they have also threatened to stop the work. Despite this, the RIMS administration is not paying them their salary. Gradually, the number of beds in the CCU decreased.
On this, Dr Pradeep said, “Every month, a letter describing manpower crunch is being sent to the RIMS management, but still there is no significant reply from the other side.”
He added, “Hiring nurses or paramedical staff on a contractual basis is no solution to the problem as the nurses required in critical care require special training which takes 6 to 8 months. If contractual nurses are hired then they will leave the job after a year or before which will again bring us to the same situation.”
Dr Pradeep further said, “The solution to the problem will be to hire permanent paramedical staff for the critical care which can be given proper training to handle the patients in the critical care unit.”
In the entire state, only RIMS has a critical care unit of the government. The Critical Care Unit was started by the RIMS administration by making very good infrastructure and building, but the employees working here were not given attention. Due to non-payment of salary on time, the employees are gradually leaving the work.
An official of the department said that RIMS has a capacity of 2400 patients. Often, over 2,000 patients are admitted here. Patients in critical conditions are kept in ICUs made in different departments and when their condition turns serious, they are sent to the critical care unit.
The New Trauma Center at RIMS has four floors. Green, yellow and red zones have been created here. According to the critical condition of the patients, there is also a system to admit them to the same zone.
Apart from ICU, ventilators, there is also a system for radiology and pathology examination. 160 staff has been requisitioned for all four floors of the new trauma centre. These include 80 nurses and 40-40 ward boys and sweepers.
