Patients’ kin sleep under trees, on porch at Aundh Civil Hospital

NIGHTMARE AT SECOND LARGEST DISTRICT HOSPITAL

Existing rest house facility taken over by private canteen, while designated canteen space used as warehouse; relatives of patients complain of major inconvenience, while civil surgeon claims to not know on-ground scenario

One of the largest civil hospitals in the entire Pune district, the Aundh General Hospital is second only to the state-run Sassoon General Hospitals (SGH) in terms of size. Since it is known for its multi-specialty treatments, thousands of patients from across remote parts of the district and outside it visit the facility for different kinds of medical aid all the year round, and the hospital receives crores of rupees from the government every year to spend on its infrastructure.

And yet, gross mismanagement on ground has been ensuring for a while now that all the beleaguered kin of patients, who are already facing untold hardships, have to suffer further due to the lackadaisical attitude of the hospital administration.

Since the COVID-19 lockdown months last year, relatives of patients admitted in the hospital have been forced to sleep under trees, on pavements, in the hospital lobby or its verandahs. Despite fears of coronavirus infection, many have also braved a stay at a private facility around 3 km from the premises, and made constant rounds to and fro to care to their loved ones.

Now, it has been revealed that a spacious rest house-cum-waiting room that was builtsome two years ago for such relatives on the campus has been occupied instead by a canteen and Shiv Bhojan Thali facility, run by private contractors. More shockingly, the existing designated canteen facility has been converted into a warehouse to store medical equipment and materials belonging to the hospital.

The rest house within the premises is spread over 3,000 square feet, and has separate sections for men and women. It was built with the intention of providing services for sleeping, dining, bathing, toilets, and storage of belongings.


In case of emergency, this in-house waiting room would also facilitate easy contacting of patients’ kin for the hospital administration — and yet, they have inconvenienced themselves, and are compelled to go around hunting for family members if a patient faces any issues.

Irked by this injustice, kin of patients have now raised a complaint with the district civil surgeon (CS) and state health minister, demanding the resumption of rest house services.

Health activist Sharath Shetty, one of the complainants, said, “We have raised several plaints and all have been forwarded to hospital administration. This illegal occupation by private contractors is causing huge inconvenience to relatives of patients. Most are not allowed to go into the hospital to attend to nature’s call. The staff don’t allow them. The canteen facility should have been set up in the designated place, and the Shiv Bhojan Thali service can start on some other premises. There is ample space with the hospital administration for other pursuits. So, this encroachment on the rest house is illegal and unnecessary. Many earlier warehouses are lying vacant. Then, why has the canteen space become a warehouse and who gave permission for the same?”

Family members rued that amidst the physical and mental stress of hospitalisation of dear ones, they also have to tackle numerous logistical inconveniences. Manisha P, a resident of Chinchoshi near Chakan, has been staying on the hospital premises like a since a week. She elaborated, “The waiting facility would have been a huge relief as I cannot afford a stay at a private lodge. My mother has been admitted here with a serious health ailment. I cannot leave the premises as doctors constantly ask me to bring in medicines and other requirements. With no option, I sleep under the trees. In case there is cold or rain, I sleep on benches in the lobby. After repeatedly begging them, staffers allow me to use the patients’ bathrooms.”

Similarly, a relative of a patient from Talegaon Dabhade said on condition of anonymity, “Like me, there are numerous patients from Junnar, Mulshi, Maval, Daund, Patas and Ahmednagar who visit the hospital. We are all forced to spend our entire day in the outdoors, whatever the weather. At night, we try to take shelter on the verandah or lobby benches. On humanitarian grounds, some guards allow us to do so. But, the availability of a rest house can obviously provide major relief.”

Interestingly, the district civil surgeon — who is in charge of this hospital —claimed to know nothing of the situation. District CS Dr Ashok Nandapurkar said, “We have not allowed canteen contractors to accommodate the rest house building. The facility was built by a social organisation to provide shelter to kin of patients. We will check on what grounds permission was granted to take over it and we will also instruct the administration to provide alternatives to relatives to prevent any inconvenience to them.”