Anjuman alumnus takes charge as the AMO of Bhatkal Taluka Hospital, gets ICU services in two days; Elaborates more plans in an exclusive interview
02:44PM Sun 13 Jan, 2019
Bhatkal 13 January 2019: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) "Without criticism, we cannot grow, be it be as an individual or as an organisation, that is my firm belief. You criticize us, that is the only way we will improve or grow, but the manner in which you criticize us, shall be polite and respectable" said Dr. Savita Kamath, who on January 1, this year took charge as the Administrative Medical Officer of Bhatkal Taluka Government hospital.
Immediately after taking the charge, Dr. Savita, going against all odds and oppositions by the hospitals staffs, started an ICU in the hospital, which she terms as her 'Dream project', although she has started the service on the trial basis, but she hopes the support from her seniors including the DHO, she will be able to make it a permanent service at the hospital starting next month.
Dr. Savita who completed her SSLC from New English School in 1986, later joined Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen's Anjuman PU College for girls, a 'bold' decision of her parents which she recalls received criticism from her own community. A brilliant student of Mathematics in her PU, Dr. Savita after securing both Engineering and Medical seats by scoring 474 rank in CET, opted for medicals and joined KMC Hubli for MBBS and completed her post graduation in 1999.
Dr. Savita joined HLL Coimbatore as an ICU in-charge for a couple of years before joining Bhatkal Taluka Government Hospital in 2002, where she has been serving since, barring a few year's posting at Byndoor Government Hospital. She has also been serving as the only anesthesiologist for last 16 years.
Staffs of government hospital and other doctors of the hospital too seemed satisfied with the way things have panned out in the last 14 days, and are hoping it to continue for a long time for things to change gradually.
Bhatkallys.com visited Bhatkal Government Hospital on Sunday and spoke to Dr. Savita about her plans to upgrade the hospital, but the Doctor already had enough to show us what she has done so far in the 13 days of taking the charge, and it was significant.
"To tell you a few things, we started ICU services with three beds and ventilator on a trials basis on the very next day of me taking the charge, we will now continue it only after getting more staffs for the service. I will speak about it in the Arogya Rakshana Samiti (ARS) meeting on January 18, and if the committee and DHO sanction more staffs for us then we will continue it, or we will stop the ICU service, this was a trial to put an impression ahead of the seniors that we are capable of rendering ICU services, so if you give us staffs we will continue it, to give maximum services to the people in Bhatkal" Dr. Savita told Bhatkallys.com
[caption id="attachment_186622" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Newly installed ventilator at Bhatkal Taluka Hospital's ICU[/caption]
"I also upgraded the casualty services, I made a separate cardiac unit with monitors and ECG machines which is available 24x7 for the people, the only idea behind all this is to provide maximum healthcare services to the locals here, who rush to private/corporate hospitals in Kundapur, Udupi and Mangalore for even small treatments which can be treated at the minimum charges here in our hospital, which the people are either not aware of or they think we are not good enough in what we do".
[caption id="attachment_186624" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Separate cardiac unit in casualty with monitor and ECG machine[/caption]
In her 'all praise' statement for her fellow doctors, Dr. Savita added "I tell you, this is the best team of doctors Bhatkal Taluka Government Hospital ever had, the doctors here, especially Dr. Laxmish, Dr. Sathish and others handle things in much better way than doctors at private hospitals, but a few of them are now thinking of applying transfers, reason? Because they are being ill-treated by the patients and their relative. That is not how it works. Doctors are humans too, they too have their lives wherein they have to eat, sleep, take rest etc, you can't expect them to be available here 24x7 and when a doctor is out even for lunch, people tend to create chaos at the hospital even for minor treatments"
"We reach hospital leaving everything, even if we are having food, we come by leaving it mid-way when we receive calls from hospital in emergency, but even the same call comes where we need not be in an hurry, we tend to finish food and come, even then people make chaos at the hospital. This happened with me a few days back when I was having my dinner after going late from the hospital, and I told nurse who called me that I will come in 15 minutes as it was a minor cut a drunkard patient had sustained, and I reached hospital in 15 minutes but by then the chaos had already started, one of the drunkard who was accompanying the patient also tried to assault me" Dr. Savita adds.
"These ill-treatments bring our spirits down, and I will not tolerate any such behavior in the hospital hereon, strictest legal action will initiated against them" she told while appealing locals to co-operate with the doctors and mutually handle things with respect. Dr. Savita has also been giving communication skills classes to the staffs to behave well with the patients and in turn expects the same from the patients and their relatives.
Speaking of corruption in the hospital she adds, "It must have been going on here earlier, but I will challenge now to find out even a single case of corruption in the hospital, I am 100% sure there are no such practices going on, and if it does, I will call on anybody to bring it into my notice and I shall see that the staffs are initiated strictest action against".
However, the shortage of staffs continues to play the spoilsport for his plans in the hospitals, to which she says "Give me staffs and I will bring this hospital up in comparison to corporate hospitals".
Dr. Sathish while speaking to Bhatkallys.com said "There is no such government hospital in the whole coastal belt like ours were we have so many specialist doctors, I can challenge that, but locals here fail to sustain them with their ill behaviors and opt for transfers as soon as they can. We request people to co-operate with us, for a long term service, we are willing to provide the best if you can behave the best".
The toilets, general wards and the corridor all look comparatively clean and tidy than the last time Bhatkallys.com visited the hospital and did a shocking reality check about one year ago, and things now look better and also heading towards a nice and fine stride in the path of up-gradation and development of the hospital.
(Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)
Newly installed ventilator at Bhatkal Taluka Hospital's ICU[/caption]
"I also upgraded the casualty services, I made a separate cardiac unit with monitors and ECG machines which is available 24x7 for the people, the only idea behind all this is to provide maximum healthcare services to the locals here, who rush to private/corporate hospitals in Kundapur, Udupi and Mangalore for even small treatments which can be treated at the minimum charges here in our hospital, which the people are either not aware of or they think we are not good enough in what we do".
[caption id="attachment_186624" align="alignnone" width="600"] Separate cardiac unit in casualty with monitor and ECG machine[/caption]
In her 'all praise' statement for her fellow doctors, Dr. Savita added "I tell you, this is the best team of doctors Bhatkal Taluka Government Hospital ever had, the doctors here, especially Dr. Laxmish, Dr. Sathish and others handle things in much better way than doctors at private hospitals, but a few of them are now thinking of applying transfers, reason? Because they are being ill-treated by the patients and their relative. That is not how it works. Doctors are humans too, they too have their lives wherein they have to eat, sleep, take rest etc, you can't expect them to be available here 24x7 and when a doctor is out even for lunch, people tend to create chaos at the hospital even for minor treatments"
"We reach hospital leaving everything, even if we are having food, we come by leaving it mid-way when we receive calls from hospital in emergency, but even the same call comes where we need not be in an hurry, we tend to finish food and come, even then people make chaos at the hospital. This happened with me a few days back when I was having my dinner after going late from the hospital, and I told nurse who called me that I will come in 15 minutes as it was a minor cut a drunkard patient had sustained, and I reached hospital in 15 minutes but by then the chaos had already started, one of the drunkard who was accompanying the patient also tried to assault me" Dr. Savita adds.
"These ill-treatments bring our spirits down, and I will not tolerate any such behavior in the hospital hereon, strictest legal action will initiated against them" she told while appealing locals to co-operate with the doctors and mutually handle things with respect. Dr. Savita has also been giving communication skills classes to the staffs to behave well with the patients and in turn expects the same from the patients and their relatives.
Speaking of corruption in the hospital she adds, "It must have been going on here earlier, but I will challenge now to find out even a single case of corruption in the hospital, I am 100% sure there are no such practices going on, and if it does, I will call on anybody to bring it into my notice and I shall see that the staffs are initiated strictest action against".
However, the shortage of staffs continues to play the spoilsport for his plans in the hospitals, to which she says "Give me staffs and I will bring this hospital up in comparison to corporate hospitals".
Dr. Sathish while speaking to Bhatkallys.com said "There is no such government hospital in the whole coastal belt like ours were we have so many specialist doctors, I can challenge that, but locals here fail to sustain them with their ill behaviors and opt for transfers as soon as they can. We request people to co-operate with us, for a long term service, we are willing to provide the best if you can behave the best".
The toilets, general wards and the corridor all look comparatively clean and tidy than the last time Bhatkallys.com visited the hospital and did a shocking reality check about one year ago, and things now look better and also heading towards a nice and fine stride in the path of up-gradation and development of the hospital.
(Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)
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