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Crumbling walls, leaking ceilings, mould covering the casualty, emergency and ICU wards – these are some of the scenes from Hindu Rao Hospital in Malka Ganj, the largest medical institution under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The dilapidated infrastructure coupled with a lack of cleaning staff has left the hospital in a dire state, a ground report on a rainy day by The Indian Express shows.
Emergency ward, OPD building
Right at the entrance, the walls sport mould while small plants grow out of the cracks outside. Nearby, a couple of attendants sleep on the dusty floor. Rainwater has collected near the medicine counter close to the wheelchair ramp of the building, forcing patients to wade through to reach the respective departments.
According to a security guard, a portion of the ceiling had collapsed a few days ago, which the administration repaired in a makeshift manner, but no permanent solution has been found. Next to the repaired patch, another portion of the ceiling looks unsteady.
Prerna, a resident of Burari, who had to come to the hospital with her friend for her one-year-old son’s treatment, says that chunks of paint and cement fell on her while she was sitting close to the casualty ward. “Now we have spread our sheets near the washroom. The place stinks but it’s safer here.”
She says there are no lights in the washrooms, which makes it particularly challenging for women. Even the men’s washroom was in a poor state — the flush was not working, and the latches of the washroom doors were broken.
While patients complain of unhygienic conditions, they heap praises on doctors. “The hospital is very dirty and poorly maintained but what can we do? The doctors are nice here and it is close to our house,” says Sunita, a Shahdara resident, who is at the hospital to collect her blood sample reports.
She adds that there is no place to even sit and they have to stand by the railing of the ramp. “It is raining today and there are no chairs. The floor is wet so where will we sit?” says Sunita, even as water drips from the damp ceiling above onto dozens of patients and their families crossing the ramp.
After the onset of the pandemic, the footfall of patients has reduced significantly – from 4,000-5,000 earlier to 2,500-3,000, a senior doctor said.
Meanwhile, a blood-filled vial comes rolling down the ramp and lies on the floor while people cross over it. When Sunita tells a security guard to pick it up and send it to the official concerned, he ignores her and walks away.
OT building
Close to the emergency building is the operation theatre building where a portion of a parapet of the first floor collapsed last month, causing minor damage to cars and motorbikes parked below. It has not been repaired so far, and what is left of the parapet has been brought down to prevent further collapse.
In the same department, a wall has been leaking water since morning. According to a security guard, a number of people have slipped because of it.
A former resident doctor who used to work at the hospital said the situation has worsened in the last 10 years: “The building has been decaying for a long time, but earlier we had the resources. Now, even basic medicines and injections are out of stock.”
The doctor, who wished to remain unidentified, says he has learned a lot at the hospital, but the political blame game between the BJP-ruled MCD and the AAP-run government over funds has affected it adversely. “Annual maintenance has not happened for years and officials blame it on fund crunch,” he says.
A resident doctor says she faces a tough time treating patients as even basic amenities like sterile gloves and Monocef injections are often out of stock. “We either use Augmentin or else ask patients to buy from outside,” she adds.
Another resident doctor says they have to buy even drinking water on their own as it is not available on campus.
When contacted, hospital medical superintendent Anu Kapoor refused to comment and asked to contact the MCD.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior official from the MCD said the competent authority has held a meeting and that maintenance work needs to be done urgently.
“A budget has been allocated for the same and the tendering process has started. An audit will be done of the building and repairs will be carried out where required,” he added.
Another corporation official added that while the administration is sincere about making improvements, there are no funds. “Even after a unified MCD, there are financial problems,” he added.
Doctors also alleged they do not even get salaries on time. “This is the situation at all MCD hospitals, not just Hindu Rao,” added a doctor.
Dr R R Gautam, president of the municipal corporation doctors’ association, says that under the given circumstances, MCD’s health services should be taken over by the central government. “In my opinion, it will give a fresh lease of life to these hospitals,” he says.
The parapet collapse at the hospital had sparked a war of words between the AAP and the MCD last month. AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak had said incidents of MCD buildings collapsing occur on a daily basis, yet the BJP administration paid no heed. “The BJP should feel ashamed. For how much longer will they tinker with the lives of innocent people? People brought them to power with hope and faith,” he said. To which the MCD said it has “not received timely grants” from the AAP-led Delhi government for the last two years for infrastructure maintenance of health institutions.
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