The Orissa High Court has come down heavily on the state government for inordinate delays in strengthening open heart surgery facilities at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. A division bench expressed serious concern over administrative lapses that are compromising patient care at one of Odisha's premier government healthcare institutions.
Court's Strong Rebuke and Directives
During Thursday's hearing, the division bench of Justices S K Sahoo and V Narasingh reviewed the status report submitted by SCB and the health & family welfare department. The court noted that while a standard operating procedure for open heart surgeries had been formulated, the government had failed to provide clear timelines or demonstrate substantial progress on earlier commitments.
The bench directed the health secretary to personally appear before the court on December 11 with updates on faculty appointments and the status of expert guidance sought from AIIMS Delhi and Government Medical College, Kottayam. Emphasizing that patient welfare cannot be sacrificed to bureaucratic delays, the court recorded its displeasure with the current pace of progress.
Critical Infrastructure Gaps Revealed
The cardiothoracic and vascular surgery (CTVS) department had prepared a comprehensive 'policy and procedure on open heart surgeries' covering diagnosis, surgical planning, CABG and valve surgeries, and post-operative ICU care. However, the court discovered significant gaps in implementation.
While the state government had written to AIIMS Delhi on October 14 seeking hands-on training, exposure visits for SCB medical staff, and deployment of experts to upgrade OT and ICU infrastructure, the bench took exception to the absence of any communication with GMC Kottayam despite earlier assurances that both institutions had been approached.
Alarming Mortality Rates and Staff Shortages
Dr. M K Pattnaik, head of the CTVS department, who joined the proceedings virtually, revealed concerning statistics about surgical outcomes. He informed the court that SCB's mortality rate in open-heart surgeries had improved from 31% in August to 17% in October following intervention by the health secretary on October 24.
Between September and October, 29 open heart surgeries were performed, resulting in five patient deaths. Dr. Pattnaik confirmed that the all-India mortality average in similar institutions stands at approximately 7%, highlighting the significant gap that needs to be addressed.
The court also expressed concern over documents submitted by the advocates' committee dated September 10 and 12, which highlighted critical shortages of qualified cardiac anesthesia faculty and the absence of full-time anesthesia residents in the CTVS unit. These staffing issues had been identified by Dr. Pattnaik as contributing factors to 'unavoidable perioperative complications'.
The state government sought two weeks to finalize reports from the expert institutions, which the court allowed while maintaining its critical stance on the delays. The next hearing on December 11 is expected to be crucial for determining the future course of action to strengthen cardiac care facilities at SCB Medical College.
