AURANGABAD: Shortage of drugs and poor services at the Government Dental College and Hospital (GDCH) is compelling patients, especially the elderly, to purchase expensive drugs from private vendors and to run hither thither to get papers and formalities.The hospital, located on the GMCH campus, is losing its importance as a district-level hospital as patients prefer private facilities due to lack of proper management and drugs. Patients and activists say that the government facility must keep drug stocks available all the time.Patients taking coming for treatment at the hospital are asked to go the GMCH to get their prescribed drugs. Elderly patients are forced to walk all the way to the GMCH OPD building and stand in a queue at the medicine counter only to realise later that it doesn't have the drugs.Private professional Rohit Ambhore said the exercise becomes too demanding. "I have to take the day off from work if I have to take my elderly grandparents to the hospital for dental health."According to Vidya Muley, a resident of Mayur Park, whenever one visits the hospital, it is the resident doctors who attend to you. "It is observed that some of these trainee doctors lack expertise and display carelessness in attending to patients. We don't know whom to complain to. There is no option but to switch to private practitioners."According to GDCH dean SP Dange, there are 10 departments in the college and each head of the department is responsible for ensuring that their department is working efficiently. "I have a complaint box outside my office. Those have complaints can drop in their concerns."The hospital, however, chiefly sees people from rural areas who are either unaware of the complaint box or do not know how to write complaints.The issue of centralised medicine procurement system through Haffkine Corporation is hurting the hospital like other public hospitals in the state, which is why the drug procurement has not yet been streamlined.Health activist Ravi Gaikwad said the hospital cannot shrug off its responsibility of providing medicines to patients. "The hospital is run by the state government and medicines should be made available at the facility."

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