TIRUCHY: The Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) administration has proposed a 150-bed patient attender shelter at an estimated cost of `3 crore, following repeated requests from patients and their families for safe and affordable accommodation on the hospital campus.
The proposed facility will be completely free of cost and accommodate 75 men and 75 women. It will have washrooms, drinking water and other basic amenities and is expected to particularly benefit families travelling from distant and rural areas, especially attendants of children and women who have delivered. MGMGH sees around 30 deliveries a day, while some families need to remain at the hospital for several days, depending on the condition of the patient.
The demand has put pressure on the existing accommodation facilities. MGMGH currently has a paid stay facility run by the Tiruchy corporation with space for 16 men and 16 women a day, at `10/person. A separate free shelter can accommodate up to 50 people. However, over 300 families stay on the hospital campus every week, mainly attendants of patients in the maternity and paediatric wards. With the existing facilities unable to meet the demand, some attendants are forced to sleep in open areas on the hospital campus.
M Ismail, a painter from Puthanatham, said he had been staying at the hospital for over a week while his wife was undergoing treatment. Unable to find space in the `10 facility and unable to afford a hotel, he initially slept in the open area in front of the maternity building. “We spread bedsheets on the ground and sleep here. There are mosquitoes and rodents,” he said, adding that affordable food and better accommodation would help families staying for prolonged periods.
Another attendant, A.Jagatheeswari, said she had secured a place at the Rs 10-a-day facility, but only one member of a family was allowed to stay. The two or three other family members accompanying her could not get space and had to sleep in the open, sometimes taking turns to manage the available space.
For the proposed shelter, the MGMGH administration has identified a suitable site near the RCH Block in consultation with the Civil Engineering team. The administration said the proposed location would not interfere with the hospital’s routine activities. The Civil Engineering authorities have now been asked to prepare the technical proposal for submission to the government. Fire and life-safety requirements will also be incorporated into the planning.
