Quality of health services in North Sikkim draws flak

GANGTOK, 26 Dec: Following the death of a 25-year-old woman during childbirth in the North District Hospital at Mangan due to alleged negligence on the part of the hospital staff some more complaints have emerged about the status of health facilities in the district. The public of Mangan reveal serious gaps in the health services and delivery mechanism of the Health Department which are again in focus due to this incident.
The people have raised some pertinent questions which demand the attention of the concerned authorities. A question has been raised as to why the operation theatre at the hospital is not functioning; there is also the disturbing point raised by the public as to why there is no blood bank at the hospital. The hospital also lacks specialist doctors, the people point out.
Regarding the death of the young mother, there is the allegation that the concerned medical staff was unavailable, coupled with the fact that the medical store attached to the hospital was closed and opened much later. Then again, the required medicines were unavailable.
These are serious questions but not the only ones being asked. While the Health Secretary has taken serious note of the incident and ordered an enquiry there needs to be an integrated approach to the upliftment of health services in the district.