Burla medicals: students and patients are the worst sufferers

( front view of VSS Medical College)

Imagine a premier medical college of the state does not have a ladies common room or a toilet in the college premises. What would happen when the only toilet that is meant for male students remains in an unhygienic condition? This is exactly the situation in VSS Medical College of Burla which is considered one of the important medical institutions of the state where half of students are female. Located on the bank of river Mahanadi near famous Hirakud dam, the medical college is only institute of this kind in entire western Orissa where patients from neighboring Chhattisgarh have also come to for treatment in the College hospital.  

Named after famous warier of the region, Veer Surrendra Sai, institution has been established in the year 1959 with a vision to serve the people of the region. But the apathetic attitude of the government coupled with the lack of political will-power of the local representatives, the institution still struggles for its existence even after 50 years of its establishment. The present strength of the institution is more than 1000 which include under graduate, post graduates and house surgeons.   

 The institution has two parts. While the college is one side of the main road that leads to Burla town, Hospital is just opposite side of the college. But sanitation is now the biggest ever problem faced by the institution. Although government claims to have spent crore of rupees on waste management and sanitation, the result becomes a big zero which is visible from the condition of the college and hospital. Though hospital authority claims there is sufficient beds for the patients in each and every wards, patients can be seen lying on the floor round the year.  There is also provision of supply bed sheets and mosquito nets to the patients but patients are hardly provided with such items. “We have sufficient quantity of mosquito nets and beddings, but we supply it only when we get a requisition from the concern ward”, hospital manager of the VSS medical college and hospital K Mahanta Said.    

On the other hand the undergraduate students who studying in the institute since last 3 to 4 years revealed that the college library is one of the best, equipped with latest journals and medical books, but they face difficulty because of the air conditioner has been defunct since a long time and the authority takes no step to get it repaired. More over, the library got a Xerox machine and few computers but Xerox is defective one and computers are not connected with internet. “We feel cut off from the outer world with out internet. But our authority does not feel the importance of the net”, a student said. According to him, they have their own arrangement to get connected with the outer world. They also made allegation of regular power cut in the campus area which disturb their study.  

While talking with TOI the students of the medical college raised the point of security of the students as well as patients and doctors. “There is no proper boundary wall for the hostel. We do not feel secured inside the hostels as there is no security arrangement by the government. Domestic animals and stray dogs rule over the entire area. Anti-social elements become a constraint threat for us. In past few doctors have been attacked by such elements. But surprisingly there is no proper security arrangement has been made by the government” another students said.

Medical college's hospital 

Meanwhile, shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff has put barrier in the supply of proper heath services in the hospital. Many important machines remain halt as there are no trained persons to handle these equipments. In some wards machine is functional, but doctors is not available for treatment. “We are trying to improve the situation. But fund becomes a major huddle for us. The dean has no power to purchase any thing. Every thing has been controlled by the government. Equipments are being purchased by the government with out verifying its requirement”, a senior professor of the college said.

On the other hand the citizens and intellectuals of the region expressed concern for the present condition of the medical college and hospital. According to them government do not take step to give autonomous status to the college. “We want autonomous in all fields including finance, administration and academic”, Activist and Lawyer Govind Narayan Agrawal said. According to him, in most of the time, representatives of west Orissa are become the health minister, but they all miserably fail to get a meaningful solution to convert it an autonomous institution by bringing a resolution in the floor of assembly