For the people of WestMaharashtra, North Karnataka and Konkan region the Chatrapati PramilarajeHospital (CPR) of Kholapur is a big blessing.
It is the nearest and bighospital which provides almost all key facilities in case of a medicalemergency.
Off late health servicesavailable in the hospital has taken a plunge and some of the facilities havealso been discontinued.
The citi scan unit has been shutdown and in the last three months. The heart surgery ward has also been closed.
There is also no proper watersupply to the hospital. Most of the lifts and toilets are not functioning.
Hundreds of patients have beenaffected due to the casual attitude of the authorities, who have failed to fixthe problem afflicting the hospital.
The 635 bedded hospital saw agolden era during the period of Digvijay Khanvilkar, when he was the healthminister of the Maharashtra government. Khanvilkar had given a facelift to thehospital and was responsible to install latest machinery. Due to his efforts a medicalcollege was started in the hospital in 2001.
Trouble started when thepassed out students of the medical college began working as doctors in thehospital. The senior doctors began to lower their guard and some even startedprivate practice. Consequently the quality at CPR hospital started to fall. Thehospital started facing shortage of medicines. The rate of blood tests, which weredone on a concessional, increased.
“The doctors at CPR hospitalare not giving good treatment to the public,” said Samir Nadaf. He said morethan 500 patients who visit the hospital with high hope have to purchase medicinesfrom outside. Nonfunctioning of the pathology, X-ray, citi scan patients haveto pay heavily to avail these facilities in a private hospital. “There may bepossibility of a nexus among the private doctors and the management of the CPRhospital,” Nadaf alleged.
Local MLA Rajesh Kshirsagarhas said that bad condition of the hospital was due to a clash between Congressand NCP, which are coalition partners of Maharashtra government. Blaming thegovernment for neglecting the CPR hospital Kshirsagar said: “For the pastcouple of years there is no recruitment done in the hospital. I will sit on ahunger strike in front of the State legislative assembly, if government delaysin revamping the hospital.”
The Dean of the CPR hospitalL S Patil said that some units of the hospital were not functioning due to sometechnical reason. He said it will be restored at the earliest.
