At city GH, treatment is free, not drinking water
Shwetha Ramesh & Anjani Sharma TNN
Chennai:29.06.2019
“Take another helping of rice if you like but there is no drinking water,” the health care worker screamed while serving lunch to patients in a ward of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
The city’s premier hospital does not provide drinking water to its patients or those accompanying them. “Patients have been asked to take water from a tank outside the hospital or buy Rs 10 bottles of water from Amma Unuvagam,” said Sankaran S, a daily wage worker, whose wife has been admitted to the women’s ward.
Health workers said the hospital is water-starved. “We don’t have it flowing in the toilets all through the day. Sometimes, when the taps run dry, we fill water in large drums so patients can flush. It’s not just patients and their family, staff working here do not have drinking water. Most of us bring water bottles from home,” said a member of the staff.
The attendants, who wait at the lounge that has no airconditioning, fan or windows, say summer has never been cruel. “We came here as we cannot afford treatment at a private hospital. While treatment here is free, we have been spending lots of money for food and water,” said R Rajender, whose relative is being treated. The water that comes in pipes doesn’t taste like drinking water and it smells bad.
On an average, a family of two spends at least ₹200 on drinking water daily. “In addition, we spend about ₹300 on food,” said Mary Arulkumar whose brother is admitted to the cardiology block.
Canteen managers at the hospital said water bottles have sold more than the proverbial hot cake in the past three months. But senior hospital administrators said the hospital has an RO plant where drinking water is available all the time.
“But many people complain that they don’t like the smell and taste of this water. They prefer to buy bottles. We also have about five tanks of 5,000 litre capacity,” said dean Dr R Jayanthi. “They buy bottle because they want to not because water isn’t available,” she said.
GETTING REPLENISHED: A tanker fills a plastic tank on the premises of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital
Shwetha Ramesh & Anjani Sharma TNN
Chennai:29.06.2019
“Take another helping of rice if you like but there is no drinking water,” the health care worker screamed while serving lunch to patients in a ward of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
The city’s premier hospital does not provide drinking water to its patients or those accompanying them. “Patients have been asked to take water from a tank outside the hospital or buy Rs 10 bottles of water from Amma Unuvagam,” said Sankaran S, a daily wage worker, whose wife has been admitted to the women’s ward.
Health workers said the hospital is water-starved. “We don’t have it flowing in the toilets all through the day. Sometimes, when the taps run dry, we fill water in large drums so patients can flush. It’s not just patients and their family, staff working here do not have drinking water. Most of us bring water bottles from home,” said a member of the staff.
The attendants, who wait at the lounge that has no airconditioning, fan or windows, say summer has never been cruel. “We came here as we cannot afford treatment at a private hospital. While treatment here is free, we have been spending lots of money for food and water,” said R Rajender, whose relative is being treated. The water that comes in pipes doesn’t taste like drinking water and it smells bad.
On an average, a family of two spends at least ₹200 on drinking water daily. “In addition, we spend about ₹300 on food,” said Mary Arulkumar whose brother is admitted to the cardiology block.
Canteen managers at the hospital said water bottles have sold more than the proverbial hot cake in the past three months. But senior hospital administrators said the hospital has an RO plant where drinking water is available all the time.
“But many people complain that they don’t like the smell and taste of this water. They prefer to buy bottles. We also have about five tanks of 5,000 litre capacity,” said dean Dr R Jayanthi. “They buy bottle because they want to not because water isn’t available,” she said.
GETTING REPLENISHED: A tanker fills a plastic tank on the premises of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital
No comments:
Post a Comment