Lack of faculty raises concerns at Kalyan Singh Super Speciality Cancer Institute and Hospital
Lucknow: Kalyan Singh Super Speciality Cancer Institute and Hospital (KSSSCIH), established with the ambitious goal of becoming North India's leading cancer treatment hub, finds itself in turmoil as has been without a full-time director for the past two years, a vacuum that is now taking a toll on its operational efficiency and patient care standards.
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Dr Vijendra Kumar, secretary of the Faculty Welfare Association at KSSSCIH pointed out that for the last two years, the work on the institute has been extremely slow. "By now, our OPD should have reached an average daily count of at least 2,000," he added. The faculty has been staging a protest on the campus for the past two days. The protest is a response to the introduction of a new salary structure for future faculty. Dr. Kumar underlined his concerns over non-clinical staff hiring and faculty appointment delays, both of which are critical to the efficient operation of services. “Instead of attracting qualified faculty to join the campus, several faculty members have left KSSSCIH in the past one and a half years,” he noted.
Prof RK Dhiman, the director at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, who holds additional charge of KSSSCIH, stated, “KSSSCIH has made significant progress in recent years with the initiation of several new facilities. As the process for the selection of a new full-time director has begun, I hope the institute will make further progress rapidly.”
As per a recent media report in Hindustan Times, in a wave of departures that has raised eyebrows, several faculty members have resigned from KSSSCIH (Karnal Singh Sewa Singh College of Medical Sciences and Research Institute), creating a void in crucial medical specialities. Notable resignations include Dr Esha Zafa (DM Medical Oncology), Dr Sai Saran (DM Critical Care), Dr Indu Shukla (Head and Neck Surgeon), Dr Saurav Vij (DM Onco-Anesthesia), Dr Swati (DM Onco-Anesthesia), Dr Tanmoy Ghatak (Anesthesia), Dr Tapas Singh (Anesthesia), Dr Brijesh Mishra (Plastic Surgery), Dr Richa Srivastava, Dr Satya Prakash (Transfusion Medicine), and Dr HS Pahwa (Surgery).
“Lack of faculty in each department has restricted DM/MCh seats. Some departments have just one faculty member. If all faculty posts are filled, at least 120 senior residents can join to improve patient care. But the fact is there are no senior residents, as all departments lack faculty as per national medical commission standards,” explained Dr Kumar.
The facility with a sprawling hundred-acre healthcare campus, designed for ambitious growth, faces underutilization with only a fraction of the intended facilities operational. The campus, envisaged to commence admissions with 750 beds in the first phase and a grand total of 1,250 beds in the second phase, is experiencing a significant lag in its development. Six years since its inception, the reality falls short, with a meager little over 250 beds currently in use and only four operating theatres catering to patients. Astonishingly, 20 operating theatres have remained dormant and unutilized for the past six years.
