Clement Pais
Pics: Ramesh Pandith
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jan 21: The Unani hospital in Bunder run by the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC), inaugurated after renovation just six months ago, is in a pathetic state. Lack of medicines and adequate infrastructure is keeping patients from receiving good healthcare. The labourers at the docks, godowns and construction sites and people in general, especially those suffering from chronic ailments, are facing huge problems due to shortage of medicines in the hospital.

The Unani hospital was renovated and inaugurated on July 5, 2014 by mayor Mahabala Maarla. Numerous people in the area rely on the hospital for treatment and come with various sicknesses, but they are forced to return without proper treatment.

The hospital is situated on the busy Azizzuddin Road and two Unani doctors namely Dr Vishwanath and Dr Asfaq have been appointed to serve in the hospital. The hospital is open four days a week (between 9 am to 12.30 pm and between 3 pm to 5 pm).

While talking to Dr Vishwanath K L who hails from Bengaluru, it was revealed that medicines required for various sicknesses, including common ailments like diabetes mellitus, blood pressure, joint pains, skin diseases etc are in acute shortage. A request for these medicines was placed six months ago but till date they have not arrived, he said. Only twice since the reopening, stocks of medicines were sent to the hospital, but these were ones that are not in high demand, hence, have not been useful for day-to-day treatment.

The irony is that the Unani doctor is forced to give allopathic medicines for patients who are suffering from cough and cold. The stock of Unani medicines like ‘Joshanda’ and ‘Sepistan’, a Unani herbal supplement, is zero in the hospital.

To check a patient suffering from tonsils, the doctor said he is able to use only stethoscope as even simple equipment like torch and tongue depressor are unavailble in the hospital. "The examination table is so high that the patient finds it difficult to get on it during medical tests. It is not event an examination table," he said.

The first aid kit is pathetic.Basic hygiene requirements like handwash and disinfection towel are not provided. There are no proper equipment to clean the floor too.

Speaking to Daijiworld, Dr Vishwanath K L said, "I can come and go without serving the people and no one will ask, but I am not that kind of a person. I wouldn’t sit idle even for five minutes when I was working in Gadag district hospital. I used to attend to almost 260 patients every day and I also got equal support from health officers who provided all the medicines. After I was transferred to Mangaluru, I am not able to do my job of serving the people because of lack of medicine and infrastructure in the hospital. I do not feel happy receiving salary for which I haven’t put necessary efforts."

He further said, "Initially, when I came here three months ago, there used to be around 35-40 patients every day. Now it has drastically reduced and only 15 to 20 people come to the hospital on a daily basis and return home unsatisfied. I have raised this issue with the corporator and the health officer but till now there has been no solution. There is no full time staff in the hospital. The person appointed here is being used for other official works without even informing me.

"There is no adequate storage facility for medicines. The cupboards provided in the hospital are old and do not even have locks. There is no proper chamber for the doctor and we do not have sufficient instruments to examine patients. The most important part of the hospital, that is the biological waste management facility is also missing," he added.

"I want to work and serve the people. This hospital has to be used for public and we need proper Unani medicines and instruments. We will work with great dedication and attend to all patients who come into this hospital," he said.

"Though we tried to contact the health officer with regard to the issues in the hospital, we were not able to succeed," he lamented.

Speaking to Daijiworld over the phone, mayor Mahabala Marla said, "It was not a hospital before. After U T Khadar became minister for health and family welfare, it was opened as Unani hospital. There is also a misunderstanding because of a lady assistant in Unani hospital. There is a procedure which has to be followed before the hospital gets medicine and other infrastruce. As soon as the request is received by the MCC, the quotation for medicines from three suppliers of Bunder will be asked, and whoever gives us the cheapest rates will be asked to supply them."

Denying the doctor's claim that medicines ordered six months ago have still not reached the hospital, the mayor said, "We have a well-maintained file about the request for medicines. The claim about late delivery of the stock by six months is not true. I have requested the DHO to check the file and as per that, the last request received for the medicines was December 23, 2014. The doctor should have placed the order before the medicines got over.
"Even though the request for medicines was sent late, it will be provided to the hospital within the next 3-4 days," he assured.

He blamed the doctors in the hospital for its current state and said, "The doctor too has a responsibility of requesting for the proper equipment required in the hospital. We do not compromise on health issues. If he had placed the order, we would have supplied the medicines immediately. Now that it has been brought to our knowledge, we will look into the matter and find a solution, and if the health officers are not responding, we will also see that differences are sorted out."

Responding to the issue, health minister U T Khadar assured to look into the matter and said, "The health department too put in efforts into the Unani hospital when it was established. So far, no complaints have been brought to my notice. But now that the issue is being highlighted, I will look into the matter.

Regarding shortage of medicines and lack of facilities, Khadar said, "I will personally send officers to the hospital to check the stock of medicines and direct them to inspect the infrastructure and fulfil the hospital's needs. Unani is a good way to treat diseases and we will not compromise on it."