Every Minute Counts: Health staff struggle with online attendance at District Hospital Shopian

Shopian, Oct 2: At the premises of District Hospital Shopian, a scene of quiet frustration unfolds every morning. Health officials clutch their smartphones, pacing back and forth, trying to mark their online attendance. Some stop after a few meters, others scan the area repeatedly, searching for a spot where their devices will connect.

“It takes us time to mark Aadhaar-based biometric attendance,” said one health official, exasperated. “Every minute counts, but we end up wasting much of it just to log in.”

The hospital relies on an online attendance system developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which requires staff to mark their presence within specific geographical coordinates. However, these coordinates are inconsistent, forcing employees to move around the premises in search of the exact location accepted by the system.

While patient care continues, the added stress and time lost to the digital system is palpable.

“This system was meant to improve efficiency, but right now it’s creating bottlenecks,” said another official. “Sometimes we spend 10 to 15 minutes just trying to mark attendance before starting our duties. That’s valuable time lost in a hospital setting.”

Staff present at the facility can be considered absent until they successfully log in, further adding to their anxiety.

The hospital has seen a significant rise in patient footfall in recent months, putting additional pressure on staff already struggling with the attendance system. At the same time, referrals to tertiary care hospitals have dropped by 20 to 25 percent, as more patients seek treatment within the district.

An NIC official said that attendance could be marked within a 60-meter range and noted that occasional smartphone issues could affect connectivity.

“We have not received any such complaints from other departments,” he said, but added that officials would visit the site and resolve any problems if found.