Lack of equipment, medicines, staff, or even space is the reality that hospitals in rural India continue to grapple with, but doctors at Odisha’s Mayurbhanj ask for something more basic. At Raruan block hospital, doctors demand that they are at least provided with uninterrupted power supply and adequate staff members in order to their job.
Doctors have to continuously tackle constant power cuts, low voltage and lack of generator backup as staff members hold candles and flashlights during treatments.
Credit: ANI
“I see 180-200 patients daily. There is an acute power crisis here. When the patients come, I have to see them, with or without electricity. Even if there is electricity, the available machines cannot be used as the voltage is very low. The machineries are getting damaged as they are hardly put to use,” Dr Dakhina Ranjan Tudu told news agency ANI.
Raruan block hospital is 300 km away from the capital city of Bhubaneshwar. Despite continuous appeals, authorities have allegedly refused to address the situation.
The hospital, which continues to function without a transformer, is visited by around 200 patients, some of whom are even critical. The doctors are more concerned about the increase in cases of medical negligence due to unavailability of light.
