The dedicated paediatric care unit at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital is in dire straits.
Apart from the lack of basic amenities and hygienic environment, the campus of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Institute of Social Paediatrics also suffers from waterlogging during the rains.
Visitors said the campus grounds turn slushy and offer hardly any cover when it pours. “On sunny days, we sit in the shade of trees, and during rains, run helter-skelter for cover,” said a patient’s relative.
The institute, located opposite the main hospital campus, has just one small shelter with a few seats for patients’ attendants and some concrete benches out in the open. Visitors also eat food on the benches outside.
Worse is the problem of garbage disposal. Several plastic bags — in blue, black and pink colours — filled with waste are dumped in the open in the hospital premises though three waste bins are provided.
“Waste management is extremely poor. The stench is unbearable and when it rains, the place turns into a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” said a medical student.
He said parts of the campus get submerged whenever it rains as there is no proper road in the premises, only sand-covered stretches.
Lack of adequate security is another problem. “People come and sleep inside the campus and one portion of the campus is poorly lit in the night,” a doctor said. Also, the building that houses the paediatrics, neurology, dermatology and nephrology wards does not have a ramp for patients on stretchers. There is no drinking water facility or toilets, the doctor said.
Hospital authorities said they would begin work on laying a bitumen-topped road in the campus. There are also plans to construct small shelters for visitors. “We will also set up rooms for segregation of garbage,” the official said.
