The poor state of medical services at Unakoti District Hospital in Kailashahar has once again come under the spotlight, with patients and their families alleging that doctors are failing to attend to them for hours after admission.
Patients reportedly have to wait for six to 12 hours and in some cases even longer, without being examined by a specialist. The situation has triggered anger and anxiety among patients and their relatives, with several families allegedly being forced to seek treatment elsewhere despite coming to the district hospital for medical care.
According to patients and their family members, many admitted patients are not being attended to by doctors for prolonged periods. As a result, they are reportedly suffering on hospital beds without receiving the necessary treatment.
One such allegation concerns a 13-year-old girl from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Pecharthal. According to her family, the girl fell seriously ill late on Thursday night, August 13, and was brought to the emergency department of Unakoti District Hospital at around midnight.
After an initial examination, the duty doctor admitted her to the Medicine Department. However, her father alleged that by noon on Friday, nearly 12 hours after admission, no doctor from the Medicine Department had visited her.
He claimed that the girl was lying on the hospital bed in pain without receiving proper treatment.
In another case, an 80-year-old woman from the area near Kailashahar Press Club reportedly suffered a stroke at around 5 am on Friday. Her family members immediately rushed her to Unakoti District Hospital.
After conducting a preliminary examination in the emergency department, the attending doctor admitted her to the Medicine Department. However, her family alleged that nearly six hours had passed by noon, yet no medicine specialist had examined her.
The woman's son openly expressed his anger, saying that his mother was lying on the hospital bed without treatment while waiting for a doctor.
When contacted, Medical Superintendent of Unakoti District Hospital, Dr Rohan Pal, declined to speak on camera but acknowledged the shortage of doctors in the Medicine Department.
He said that for the past few days, the department had effectively been functioning without its regular doctors. Of the three medicine specialists posted at the hospital, Dr Pritam Pal has gone outside the state to pursue higher studies, including a postgraduate course. Dr Rakesh Das is on leave due to family reasons, particularly his wife's illness, while Dr Purnakrit Debbarma has been on leave for nearly a month.
As a result, the Medicine Department has been left almost without doctors, severely affecting medical services at the district hospital.
Dr Pal further said that the health department's senior authorities had been informed about the crisis in writing. However, no permanent solution has been found so far.
The shortage of doctors has reportedly caused serious disruption to healthcare services at Unakoti District Hospital. Patients travelling from distant areas for treatment are allegedly being forced to go to Agartala or private hospitals outside the state when they fail to receive timely medical attention.
The situation is not only increasing the financial burden on ordinary people but is also raising concerns over patients' lives when necessary treatment is delayed.
Local residents have expressed concern over the condition of the district's main hospital. They alleged that despite the seriousness of the situation, there has been little visible initiative from the administration, health department, ruling party or opposition political parties to resolve the crisis.
With patients and their families feeling helpless and deprived of proper medical care, the key question now being raised is when the doctor shortage at Unakoti District Hospital will be resolved and when residents will once again receive normal healthcare services.