The recent case of a new-born baby stolen from a city government hospital has exposed the lack of security measures in these places. City Express visited two well-known hospitals in the city and undertook a reality check on the security measures.
Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, Byrsandra: It was 6.40 pm when two of us reached the hospital and were shocked to find hardly any security at any entry points despite a security booth. As we walked in, the same scenario prevailed at the reception and there was no one to guide us. Moreover, a huge window was damaged in the general ward, risking the patients to theft and other dangers.
However, after some time, a security personnel popped out of nowhere. What was even more outrageous was both of us were subjected to eve teasing by two rowdies who were loitering in the premises. The road leading to the hospital was also dark with no street lights.
Bowring Hospital, Shivajinagar: When we entered the hospital at 3pm, we found security personnel at most of the entry points with 60 security men manning the hospital. But no clear instructions anywhere to find our way.
At the Central Blood Collection Centre, we did not find a single person at the reception counter though it was already 3:15 pm. Two people were waiting there. One of them, Umra Shah said, “Treatment is good. We don’t have to wait for long. To collect reports, we have been waiting for 15 minutes. It’s not even lunch hour.”
One of the top officials in the hospital said,”Do you see the number of patients coming to the hospital on a daily basis and most of then are BPL card holders? It’s not practical to check everyone entering the hospital. We have eight CCTV cameras around the hospital including the general and casualty ward.” On the baby theft issue, he added,”In most cases, the hospital inmates are also hand-in-glove with the accused. In other aspects, I can tell you our hospital is better than many other government hospitals.”