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Patients Denied Critical Care Due to Vacant Posts
21 Nov
Summary
- Hospital has no super-speciality doctors in crucial fields.
- Most vulnerable patients lack advanced care due to unfilled posts.
- A proposal for a new super-speciality hospital remains pending.
Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) in Pune faces a critical shortage of super-speciality doctors, impacting its ability to provide essential advanced medical care. Out of eight approved super-speciality posts, only one is filled, and 17 out of 24 assistant professor positions remain vacant. This deficiency leaves patients without treatment in vital areas like neurology, nephrology, and gastroenterology.
The lack of specialists has led to dire consequences, including patients being turned away from the hospital for much-needed tertiary care. For instance, a man from Satara was denied a neuro-physician's consultation. Furthermore, SGH could not investigate a suspected medical negligence case due to the absence of a gastroenterologist and liver transplant surgeon.
In response to these challenges, SGH and BJ Medical College proposed a new 250-bed super-speciality hospital and postgraduate institute in January 2025. This initiative aims to improve patient care and postgraduate training. However, the proposal is still pending with the state government, leaving the future of advanced healthcare at SGH uncertain.
