For patients admitted to the male orthopaedic ward at Government Stanley Hospital, space and cool air are in short supply.
While many are forced to lie on the floor due to a shortage of beds, many others bring their own table or pedestal fans in an attempt to beat the blistering heat. Practically every bed in ward 406 as well as several in the other orthopaedic wards has a table or pedestal fan next to it.
Freebies can be very handy at times, as these circumstances have proved — the State government’s free table fans have been put to good use with many patients having brought them along to the hospital.
The verandahs on either side of the ward too, accommodate a number of beds due to space constraints in the ward. Some patients with bandages on their legs lie on bed sheets on the floor. Since the verandahs do not have ceiling fans, most patients here rely on fans brought from home.
“My leg is fractured. I have been lying on the floor for over a week as all the beds are occupied. It is extremely difficult but what choice do I have? There are no ceiling fans in the verandah so I have brought a table fan from home as it is very hot and there is no breeze,” said a patient.
Another patient, who was on a bed on the verandah, said he used a hand fan whenever needed. “There are no mosquitoes in the night, so I am able to manage without a fan. Many of the patients inside have brought table fans as the ward is overcrowd and the ventilation is bad,” he said.
Doctors said the orthopaedic wards had more patients than the bed strength. “If there are 40 beds in a ward, we have at least 20 additional patients. The wards are overcrowded and so there is no proper ventilation. So patients bring their own table fans,” a doctor said.
