CUTTACK: Uncertainty prevails over the sustainability of kidney transplant facility that was recently launched at Sriram Chandra Bhanj (SCB) Medical College and Hospital because of inadequate number of doctors and paramedics and lack of infrastructure.

The kidney transplant facility was started in the Urology department in March. Till now, four successful kidney transplants have been carried out at the Urology ward of the hospital, while 70 others are in the waiting.

The 30-bed urology department is functioning with just three doctors and three senior residents while the requirement is much more. The existing team of doctors is not only handling the OPD, indoor patients but also conducting the transplants. Also, the department provides M.Ch course (a post-doctoral course) that adds to the burden of the faculty. "The department has one professor, an associate professor, one assistant professor and three senior resident doctors. With this handful of doctors we are managing everything, including the renal transplants," said a hospital staff.

According to sources, the department had proposed for appointment of one associate and one assistant professor in urology and two anaesthesiologists. Though the government has cleared the proposal, recruitment is yet to start. The department is also facing acute shortage of paramedic staff.

A dedicated team of trained nurses and pharmacists are required to handle the renal transplants but the department lacks adequate manpower. The department at least needs eight trained nurses and four pharmacists to handle ICU patients. "Nurses are allotted on a rotation basis to different wards so there is a severe shortage of trained nurses in the department to handle the patients, who undergo renal transplants," said a doctor.

The hospital insiders are blaming the authorities for the lackadaisical approach in appointing adequate manpower. "With this acute shortage of manpower, it is difficult to sustain the renal transplant facility in the hospital," a doctor said.

Meanwhile, Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has informed that steps are being atken to appoint more manpower for the ward. "We have already appointed four senior resident doctors in the urology department to handle the renal transplant surgeries. If required, we will definitely take steps to appoint more doctors. Similarly, steps are being taken to appoint trained paramedic staff," said P K Das, DMET. The SCB provides renal transplant at an affordable cost of Rs 1.5 lakh while the treatment costs over Rs 6 lakh in private hospitals.

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