VISAKHAPATNAM: The lack of enough beds continues to plague patients of the gynaecology ward in King George Hospital as the only solution authorities of the institute can think of is to accommodate two patients, along with their infants, on one bed.
The patients say the situation has been such for the past several years. A new mother blamed the hospital authorities for the condition as the situation “is turning worse with each passing day”.
The gynaecology wing of the biggest hospital in the region has four wards dedicated to antenatal and post-natal care in addition to two special wards for patients in need of emergency healthcare.
Each ward has four units with 10 beds each, but the lack of a sufficient number of beds has become a problem, given the heavy flow of patients to the hospital from the north coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam and parts of neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
“Accommodating two patients on one bed has become the norm here. How can the authorities be indifferent to such a situation? Even if we complain, the nurses say it is not in their hands and that they can do nothing about it,” alleged a patient in the ward on Sunday.