Unhygienic conditions, missing records, report exposes irregularities in Ludhiana civil hospital

In his report, which is accessed by HT, submitted to director of the health and family welfare department on January 3, Civil surgeon Dr. Jasbir Singh Aulakh mentioned mismanagement plaguing the hospital’s treatment procedures

: Civil surgeon Dr. Jasbir Singh Aulakh, in his maiden visit to the civil hospital last month, has pointed out discrepancies in the functioning of the medical facility, highlighting serious lapses, including absence of hygiene, staff and records, in various departments.

Unhygienic conditions, missing records, report exposes irregularities in Ludhiana civil hospital

In his report, which is accessed by HT, submitted to director of the health and family welfare department on January 3, Aulakh mentioned mismanagement plaguing the hospital’s treatment procedures.

In the report, he instructed the hospital management to rectify the identified issues and implement necessary improvements under close monitoring.

It was found that ultrasound scans of pregnant women were being conducted externally and patients were being referred to an ultrasound scan centre run by a gynecologist’s family, the report said, adding that the senior medical officer (SMO) of the civil hospital and maternal and child health (MCH) department to submit reports of ultrasound scans conducted between October and November for pregnant women referred by the gynecologist.

The report highlighted a distressing incident on December 28 involving a critically ill pregnant woman. Despite being in a critical condition for delivery, no consultant attended to the woman, and treatment was solely administered by a DNB student through telephonic consultation, according to the report.

During his visit to Jan Aushadhi, the civil surgeon discovered the absence of the pharmacy officer from duty. Staff on site was unable to provide information on the officer’s whereabouts, and the absence of required licences and maintenance of registers raised further concerns, the report said.

Additionally, absence of eye surgery records in the OT, lack of cleanliness in the TB department, incorrect filling of forms related to trauma ward admissions, missing mobile numbers in the emergency register, and a faulty MCH lift were some of the issues also highlighted in the report.

The civil surgeon has issued specific directives to the SMO, including relocating patient dressing to the ward, routine checks of the OT register, repairing the broken boundary wall of the civil hospital, monthly submission of sputum test records by the TB department, and the covering of open areas containing biomedical waste with a roof.