Madhya Pradesh District Hospitals Shut OPD And Dialysis Services On Holidays, Patients Forced To Seek Private Treatment

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Patients requiring OPD consultations and dialysis at district hospitals in Madhya Pradesh are forced to turn to private hospitals or referral hospitals attached to medical colleges as these services remain suspended on Sundays and gazetted holidays.

The suspension adds to the patient load at referral hospitals, which are already struggling with limited facilities.

Doctors said the services remain suspended because the staff responsible for operating them are on holiday. Although emergency services remain operational, they cannot fully compensate for the suspension of regular OPD services.

While patients can consult doctors from various specialities in OPDs, only a few doctors remain available in emergency departments.

To prevent inconvenience to patients during consecutive holidays, district hospitals have been directed not to suspend OPD services completely. On the second consecutive holiday, a shortened OPD operates from 9 am to 11 am. However, dialysis services remain suspended even during such periods.

Acknowledging the disruption in services during holidays, Dr Navin Kothari, chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Jabalpur, said efforts would be made to provide dialysis services for a few hours during consecutive holidays.

OPD and dialysis services indeed remain suspended at district hospitals on holidays. We will now try to operate dialysis services for a few hours, on the same pattern as OPD services, when there are two consecutive holidays.

Dr Himanshu Sharma, head of the department of nephrology at Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal, said, The suspension of dialysis services at district hospitals increases the patient load at referral hospitals, which are already struggling with inadequate facilities.

Patients from Vidisha, Raisen, Sehore and other districts are therefore left with two options: seek treatment at private hospitals or come to Hamidia Hospital.