Telangana: Staff crunch hits services at Mancherial GGH

Several posts lying vacant in key departments affecting emergency care; the hospital caters to medical emergencies from both Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts

Mancherial: The district headquarters or government general hospital in Mancherial is facing staff crunch, causing inconvenience to the public.

The 330-bed district headquarters hospital, attached to government medical college, is a major source for healthcare services to people not only from the district, but also neighbouring Kumram Bheem Asifabad. However, it is plagued by a slew of challenges. The facility is reeling under severe shortage of doctors and staffers in various wings at a time when seasonal diseases are likely to surge.

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According to officials, the hospital’s emergency wing was staffed by seven doctors as against a sanctioned strength of ten. It has no ophthalmologist or dentist. The only cardiologist left in the hospital is on deputation, affecting services of the important specialty.

Similarly, the dedicated mother and child hospital, another key wing of the district headquarters hospital, has six gynaecologists as against the 14 sanctioned posts. Posts of two associate professors and five assistant professors have been vacant at the neonatal child care centre for a long time.

“The hospital, a ray of hope for people from both Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts in medical emergencies is unable to live up to expectations of the public owing to dearth of staff. Officials should take steps to fill posts lying vacant and to ensure better medical services to the public,” Tula Madhusudhan, a social activist from the town, opined.

Meanwhile, Telangana Diagnosis District Hub, the one-stop centre for various diagnostic services at the hospital, has not been equipped with a radiologist and bio-chemist since its inception in 2023. Additional lab technician post has not been filled so far. Barely 82 types of services are being extended out of the total 134 services, indicating the problem of insufficient staff.

Officials said that requests were made to higher officials seeking recruitment of doctors, associate professors, assistant professors and staffers for different wings. They stated that steps were being taken to avoid inconvenience to the patients and public of the districts with the help of existing staffers.