GUNTUR : Guntur General Hospital, one of the largest government hospitals in state, admits more than 35 pregnant women on any given day. But for more than a year, the hospital does not have a separate maternity ward.
Just 18 beds are crammed in a small hall and two women are forced to share a bed along with their new-borns. If the number of cases exceeds 36, the patients have no option but to sleep on the hospital floor.
Take the case of G Pratyusha from Brahmanapalli of Piduguralla mandal in Guntur district. The young mother was admitted to the GGH on Sunday night, where she delivered a baby boy. Despite a cesarean surgery, she had no option but to sit in her bed along with her new-born and share the bed with another pregnant woman. Also, there was no post-operative care facility.
“We cannot afford to go to private hospitals, where we have to shell out a big amount. For people like us, Government hospital is the only option regardless of the conditions here,” said K Varalakshmi from Karlapalem village, who gave birth to a baby boy three days ago and has since then been sharing her bed with a fellow patient.
About two years ago, the state government has found that the hospital requires a bigger maternity ward along with facilities like operation theatres, pre-natal, post operative care and neo-natal care units, delivery suits and other facilities.
The Government has released `20 crore for the construction of a building in 2014, following which the existing old building was demolished last year. Last year, an additional `20 crore was donated by a group of NRIs as the hospital management has decided to construct a five-storeyed building with super-specialty services. However, the project did not take off and is said to be pending clearance from the health department.
Speaking to TNIE, GGH Superintendent D S Raju Naidu said that the mother and child ward was demolished for construction of a new block.
“The earth work is in progress and there is no fund problem. However, we need some permissions from the health department. We hope to secure those permissions in a few weeks. Once the permissions are obtained, we will start the construction work immediately,”he said.
Even if the construction work begins immediately, the building would be ready only after another 18 months.