30 September,2010 07:49 AM IST | | Astha Saxena
Doctors also complain about staff-crunch, lack of basic facilities
Despite the fact that the general health of the Commonwealth Games village has improved a little, the training venues are still running on life support.
Pakistani contingent for the Games arrives at the airport in New Delhi
on Wednesday. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan
Hanged by a feeble thread of bare minimum medical professionals and equipment, the training venues are facing an acute shortage of trained hands and essential apparatus. At the same time, those doctors who are already posted at the venues are alleging that they are not being given basic facilities like proper food.
Doctors posted at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium told MiD DAY that the medical centre at the stadium, venue for the hockey event, is short-stuffed and under-staffed.
"We don't have enough medicines to treat the players. The medical centre lacks basic facilities," said a doctor, requesting anonymity.
The National Stadium was also the venue for the Hockey World Cup in March this year.
Medical staff posted at the Yamuna Sports Complex complained that they are not being provided "good" food.
"We are being given sub-standard food. We are already short of hands, if somebody of us falls ill then how do we serve the players," asked a para-medic posted at the complex. The Yamuna Sports Complex, in east Delhi's Surajmal Vihar area, is the venue for Table Tennis and Archery events.
Meanwhile, the accreditation fiasco at the Games continued on Wednesday with 14 doctors at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital complaining that they are yet to get "Even the Medical Superintendent of our hospital has not been issued the accreditation card. With just three days left, we don't know how they are going to pull it off," said a senior doctor at the hospital, which is also among the four designated hospitals of the Commonwealth Games.
As per a health department official attached to the Games village, 200 medical staff who will be accompanying the ambulances, are yet to get their accreditation card.
Delhi Health Minister Dr Kiran Walia assured that the accreditation cards would be issued "very soon".
u00a0"There is no shortage of medicines at the venues. I have not received any complaint in this regard. About 75 per cent of the doctors have got their accreditation cards and rest of them will get it by Saturday," she said.
