Protest erupts outside BMC Hospital over staff shortage and medicine unavailability

Bhubaneswar(By Abhishek Mohanty): Tension prevailed outside BMC Hospital in Bhubaneswar as members of a service group staged a protest alleging severe staff shortages, unavailability of medicines, and mismanagement at the hospital.

Protesters claimed that common cold medicines are not available, causing hardship to patients. They further alleged that ordinary patients are being mistreated and that authorities have failed to act despite repeated complaints.
According to the demonstrators, while there are provisions for appointing new contractual staff, no such appointments have been made. Several departments remain closed and important surgeries are reportedly not being conducted.
The service group alleged that the hospital previously had 41 doctors, but the number has now dropped to 14. Of them, five doctors have been posted to dispensaries. The Chief Medical Officer has also retired following a promotion, further impacting administration.
With an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 patients visiting the hospital daily, the shortage of doctors, nurses, technical staff, and medicines has allegedly led to many patients returning home without treatment.
The protest was led by service group chief Neelamani Mishra. 

Among those present were Ashok Kumar Maharana, Girija Shankar Mohapatra, Tara Charan Acharya, Ullas Chandra Mohapatra, Piyush Mahanti, Saubhagya Mishra, Sita Raut, and other members of the organization.