Kochi: Dental diseases are most common among people and government hospitals in Kerala are offering exemplary services to the masses at a pittance.
Most of the government-owned medical Colleges in the state have dental colleges attached to them and one such is at Kottayam where the rich and the poor throng the institution seeking solution to their tooth ailments.
There are a lot of students pursuing their dental studies whose services are utilised in handling minor cases. Outstanding students do major surgeries under the direct supervision of senior doctors and faculty members.
But, all said and done, there are some downsides in the hospital which could be tackled easily if the administration has the will.
One such thing is the management’s hesitation in adopting modern communication facilities to interact with patients.
Patients who are posted for investigation and intervention are intimated through postcards which are archaic and could get lost during transit.
With countless social media platforms vying for space in cyberspace, why is the management hanging on to the age old communication system is a question asked by these patients in the corridors of the hospital.
The other major problem faced by the patients is the process of taking X-Ray, which is another primitive way followed by the management.
Sick patients are made to queue up to pay money for taking X-Ray and then wait for a long time to get the X-Ray taken.
Patients are subjected to another session of waiting for getting the film of the X-Ray which are miniature and could get lost if not carried safe.
The technology of transferring the x-ray to computers of the attending doctor has been in place for a long time. It has been ages since such practices have been discarded by private hospitals.
Also there are reports of junior doctors attending major surgeries.
Alas, the Dental College attached to the Kottayam Medical College is sticking to such practices that are irritating, time consuming and taxing for patients most of who are in agony due to tooth ailments.
According to a top official of the hospital it is being run the best possible way.
With regards to intimating through postcards, the official told the newsskerala.com that there was a shortage of staff and facilities to contact patients through social media. She said that in many cases patients are informed through telephones.
Same was the case with the x-ray, as the agency assigned to carry out the software solutions has not done it properly.
“We have been thinking about all these things. We are looking forward for the health ministry’s e-health implementation which would solve the x-ray matter.
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