The Tangkhul Mayar Ngala Long (Tangkhul Youth Council), on Saturday protested in front of Ukhrul District Hospital for the negligence of the state government on Public Health Care System, demanding improvement in working conditions of the district Hospitals to acceptable levels.
The Youth Council addressed the urgency especially during crucial times of Covid19 pandemic on shortage of doctors, nurses, medical equipment and facilities resulting in nonfunctional degrading public healthcare in Ukhrul.
To this regard, charter of demands laid by TMNL in the memorandum was submitted to Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh for immediate action.
The demands put forth to the government are for 50 bedded hospital fully staffed with 30 doctors; 21 Specialist Doctors, 9 Medical Officers. In comparison, at the moment Ukhrul District Hospital has just 15 doctors, 8 Medical officers and just 7 Specialist doctors. Manning a district hospital with just 5 specialists who visits just 4 times in a week (excluding the sonologist and radiographer), the Medical officers are overworked. This will not only improve the healthcare system but will also be convenient for the citizens of Ukhrul in getting treatment in Ukhrul itself without having to travel to Imphal and cut cost.
We demand that four Specialist Doctors (at the least) be made available at Ukhrul District Hospital. This include a Medical Specialist, a Surgeon, an Anaesthetist, and an Orthopaedics, TMNL said.
Demand for immediate appointment of 16 other nursing staffs to ensure that every patient in the hospital are well assisted with, and that no staffs are overworked. Currently the hospital has just 17 nurses, one nursing superintendent and one sis-in-charge. The full strength of the total nursing staff however should be 35.
TMNL in the memorandum wrote, ECG and ultrasound equipment are installed but with no one to man the machines. For a frequently required testing as X-Ray machine where a radiographer is required 24×7, there is only one staff posted, risking the lives of patients in emergency cases.
The youth council in it’s charter of demands categorically pointed out that, patients are forced to travel to Imphal for basic testing such as ultrasound pointing out that uncountable cases of patients have died while on the way to Imphal.
Other demands for immediate intervention included, construction of Blood Bank, appointment of ECG technician, Ultrasound technician and Radiographer in the Ukhrul District Hospital.
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