Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima (NHAK), State’s premier healthcare centre, is in urgent need of infrastructure update and repair.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, an official, on condition of anonymity, informed that almost everything in the hospital required an immediate upgrade and refurbishment, including the building and wards. As the old hospital building was constructed over hundred years ago, it needs lots of repair, including damages caused due to instability of soil in the hospital area.
A team of engineers did a survey of the hospital few months ago, but nothing has been heard since then.
While a disability ramp was being constructed at NHAK, the official said as the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment officials had visited the hospital and suggested more toilets and ramp for the differently abled, they were working on that.
The official also claimed that MRI and mammography machines, that were dysfunctional for some time, had been repaired and were functional now. Though one out of the two lifts of the hospital is functional, he said it was sufficient and served the needs of the public as of now.
Further, the hospital faces financial problems as it generates its own revenue, which is not enough to pay the 169 contractual staff, while the OPD building under construction for the last seven to eight years and funded by North Eastern Council (NEC) is yet to be completed.
Then there are issues of cleanliness and hygiene at NHAK. And for this, not just hospital management, even patients and their attendants and visitors are to be blamed as the latter are often seen littering the hospital campus, besides spitting.
Many forget that cleanliness is required not only for aesthetics, but also to reduce incidences of hospital acquired infections (HAI). Hospital cleanliness is required to minimise the growth of infective organisms that can spread between patients, visitors and hospital staff. But these are being rarely followed in NHAK.
The hospital serves the need of the State Capital’s more than two lakh population, besides the neighbouring villages. It has 334 regular employees (36 senior doctors, 13 junior doctors, 100 nurses, 66 regular Grade III staff, nine ad hoc staff, 114 Grade IV staff, six Grade IV ad hoc staff), 169 contractual employees (15 doctors, 125 ministerial and other staff, five physiotherapists and 24 staff nurses) and 60 National Health Mission employees (seven doctors, 31 nurses, 18 minister and technical staff and four Grade IV staff).
And according to the official, the numbers were sufficient to take care of the medical requirements of the people living in the hospital’s vicinity
Meanwhile, NHAK project director Dr Vizolie Suokhrie asserted that many changes would be bought about in the next two to three months, though he did not elaborate.