Re: 30 Children infected in Kolkata hospital

[Guest guest]

Dear forum,

The news of 30 children being infected of HIV due to blood transfusion

procedures in a renowned Govt. Hospital in Kolkata may have surprised,

shocked, dismayed many.

But it does not surprise me. What surprises me more is how did this

piece of news manage to slip out of the hospital or the " Patient

Party's " lips into the media. Is anyone aware of the amount of care that

is taken in Govt. Health Centres to ensure that nothing leaks out? How

carefully faux pa's are mopped up and not even a positive news is

allowed to appear in the media!

We have news of 30 children being infected of HIV, but every day

thousands of children and other patients share and transmit infections

across wards which are filthy, stinking and infested with animals,

across Operation Theatres which are in appalling conditions and Hospital

consumables lying all over. Principles of Bio-Medical Waste Management

are winked away to prefer medieval practices of using the window as a

gateway to throw out garbage. Principals of Universal Precautions are

long forgotten by medical practitioners for want of practice and

equipment.

Did you hear about the doctor in a sub-divisional hospital who wrote a

Death certificate without even seeing the woman patient. The woman was

stabbed to death by her in-laws for dowry. The police registered a case

later when the woman's parents lodged a case, but there was no evidence

against the doctor. Did you hear about the Gynae in the District

Hospital; who forgot to take the swabs out after a caesarian section.

The woman came back after a month with serious septic conditions and

almost died.

The hospital closely guarded the secret.

What I want to point out is that the conditions in Government Hospitals

in West Bengal is bad. This we all know, but with all the money coming

in from International donors like World Bank, EU etc for Health Sector

Reforms- are we really achieving anything at all.

The HSDP II is over. 10 years of a project and we still have such

instances- not sporadic, one off but a general disease condition in the

Health Systems.

Do we need a Catharsis and a Reengineering? Throw away all that we have

and start afresh. Money is definitely not a problem.

What is grossly missing is: ATTITUDE TO CHANGE.

With regards,

Shomik Ray

E-mail:<shomik@...>