KAILASHAHAR: Patients at Unakoti District Hospital are being left without medical attention for six to twelve hours after admission, triggering allegations of a severe doctor shortage at the district’s only major healthcare facility.
In one case, a 13-year-old girl from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Pecharthal, was admitted to the Medicine Department around midnight on August 13 after falling ill. Her father alleged that no doctor examined her even by noon the next day, nearly twelve hours later.
In a separate incident, an 80-year-old woman from near Kailashahar Press Club, who suffered a stroke at home on Friday morning, reportedly went unseen by a medicine specialist for nearly six hours after admission, her son alleged.
Medical Superintendent Dr Rohan Pal confirmed the crisis, stating that of the department’s three specialists, one is on study leave, another is on leave due to his wife’s illness, and a third has been absent for a month, leaving the department virtually doctor-less.
Dr Pal said senior health authorities have been informed in writing, but no permanent solution has emerged. Patients are increasingly being forced to seek treatment in Agartala or outside the state, raising costs and health risks, as residents voice growing frustration over official inaction.