A day after the death of a patient on the premises of the Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital, several patients gathered to protest against what they said was the lax attitude of the medical establishment.
Patients maintained that they were being harassed and not given proper instruction on where to seek medicines and medical procedures. Naseem who brought her daughter Rani for treatment at the hospital said: “The doctors here tell me that my daughter has an enlarged heart and that we will need over Rs. one lakh to ensure that she gets adequate treatment. I am a daily wage labourer and there is no way that I can raise this kind of money.”
Another relative of a patient in the hospital Biklesh said: “My brother has high fever, a stomach infection and he has been vomiting since Saturday morning. The doctors gave some medicine and asked us to leave. He is still unwell and we aren’t sure what to do. There is little in terms of medical help that the hospital is offering us.’’
Yet another patient Rachana (diagnosed with infection in the chest) waiting outside the hospital with her father said: “We have come here to get some tests done, but since morning we have been made to wait without anyone telling us where exactly to go or what exactly needs to be done. We have come from Central Delhi and now we don’t know if we should wait longer or go back home.”
Speaking about the problem, a hospital official said: “The hospital sees a lot of traffic in terms of patient load and we offer the best help that can be given under the circumstances.’’
