A Ratio Problem

Here was recently identified as one of the five centres of excellence in the country by a NITI Aayog-ICMR study.

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Earlier, the Centre had designated the SAT Hospital of the medical college as a centre of excellence for rare diseases as well.

Now, coming to the issue of nursing woes, the standard staff nurse-to-bed ratio is said to be 1:6 in general wards, 1:4 in special wards, and 1:1 in ICUs. "We cannot expect the staff-to-patient ratio in government hospitals to match global standards. But the current ratio is far too high—it's at least 1:50 here. The number of patients is only likely to increase by the day," says a senior nursing officer at the medical college.

Requesting anonymity, she explains that the shortage affects both nurses and patients. "We are struggling here. That's one reason why nurses often get a bad reputation, like being grumpy or insensitive," she says.

"There are no additional staffers for tasks like blood collection, and this puts extra pressure on us. Nurses are supposed to focus on core duties such as administering injections and medicines, but we are often overloaded with other responsibilities. In ICUs, the standard should be a 1:1 nurse-to-patient ratio, but here, it's closer to 1:8. This is an approximate figure, but the reality is indeed concerning."