HYDERABAD: The Out-Patient Department (OPD) of Fever Hospital has become a scene of chaos, as violent fights are breaking out among patients and hospital staff every day due to a large number of people thronging the hospital with seasonal diseases. The nurses run helter-skelter in the emergency ward as well as in the OPD as they are overworked and due to shortage of staff.
On Monday, hundreds of patients queued up outside Fever Hospital for hours to seek treatment for fever, dizziness, body ache and chronic vomiting.
Shabana Begum, a mother of two who had come from Shadnagar said, “We got our registration done at 9 am. It has been over 3 hours, and we still might have to wait for another 45 minutes to be able to see a doctor.”
Pointing to her twin six-year-old sons, who were lying down on the crowded floor, she said, “Both of them have tested positive for dengue. We just got the tests done in the morning. They are running a high temperature, and have been vomiting since morning. We might have to take them to a private clinic now.”
The out-patient department was packed with over 350-400 patients waiting for their turn and eventually, a scuffle broke out, escalating to men hitting each other, as women and children got caught in the middle of the chaos.
Speaking to Express, A Yadamma, nursing superintendent said, “We currently have only one multipurpose health worker, whereas there are vacancies for nine more. We also have nine vacancies for staff nurses. We currently have 40 nurses being led by one head nurse. We do require more nurses to handle the crowd, especially during monsoon season.”
As the chaos ensued, the nurses and the hospital staff tried to control the situation by latching doors of the casualty and out-patient wards.
Many patients were seen buying medication from pharmacies outside, as the lines at the hospital pharmacy reached right uptil the main gate.
The hospital superintendent, Dr K Shankar, though being present at the hospital, was unavailable for comment.
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