SARLAHI: Service seekers have been hit due to the dearth of health workers in the district hospital. Outpatient as well as In-patient departments have been affected as a result.

All the services provided by the hospitals have been halted as the four doctors including a medical superintendent have long been absent. Koushal Kumar Singh, chairman, Hospital Management Committee, said the Minister for Health, Uma Kanta Chaudhari had not paid heed to solving the problem despite their repeated pleas. ''We are running the emergency ward under the supervision of an Assistant Health Worker,'' he added.

According to Rambabu Raut, chief, Hospital Administration Department, all the doctors including medical superintendent Dr Murari Prasad Upadhyay have been absent in the hospital for long. Lab Technician Dharmanath Rastogi said the number of patients visiting the hospital had been increasing due to the change of season.

Senior AHW Shiva Chandra Raya said patients of serious illnesses had not been admitted in the absence of a physician. ''About 10 patients are sent back on a daily basis," he added.