HYDERABAD: Lack of beds in Niloufer Hospital is leading to over 1,500 children and women being adjusted on the available 1,000 beds. In all the paediatric wards at the hospital, three children are sharing one bed. The situation is more of the same in the emergency wards as well, which is stationed in the new intensive care building.
The hospital catered to 1,700 out-patient consultancy cases on Tuesday alone. Of the 1,500 in-patients at the hospital, over 10 per cent are suspected to be of dengue fever. The children could be seen lying on the floors of the ward, with parents holding bottles of IV drips over their wards’ heads.
Open defecation in corridors
A strong stench permeates the entire length of the floors, as the corridors of the hospital have turned into open defecation areas. Many wards do not have washroom facilities. Patients have to go to the shelter complex, located outside the hospital building for using the toilet facilities. Toddlers seen urinating inside the wards in the corner of the rooms is a common sight. Even drinking water is not available in the wards, rue the hassled parents.
Lack of adequate doctors
Deepika, a 25-year-old mother from Old City, told Express, “My three-year-old son had loose motions for past few days. We came to the hospital three days back. He initially shared the bed with another kid. As of today, though, four children are sharing this single bed. We are taking turns. The junior doctors come once in a while to check on us, however, the senior doctor hasn’t been able to check on my son once in the past three days.”
She further added, pointing to the other children sleeping on the floor, “We have also been asked to use the glucose drip judiciously — half a bottle in the morning and half a bottle in the evening — as there is a shortage. The fans are not working. The crowded ward has turned into a gas chamber.”
However, Dr Murali Krishna, superintendent of Niloufer Hospital, said, “The rush was expected as this is the season of viral fever. We are coping with the patients by discharging them as soon as the treatment is over. Such a situation is only in the treatment rooms, and not in the main ward.” The superintendent added, “The washrooms are available at the end of every corridor, but parents do not take their children there, as the kids get scared.”