Ill and out in the cold

Life on pavements is cruel for the poor visiting Delhi for treatment

Rajesh, 53, has been camping on the pavement of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for the last two months, living mostly on biscuits and tea that passers-by give him. He has a cold because of the severe winter, but the ailment he is battling with is more serious - throat cancer.

“No family-member of mine is ready to come to stay here during the treatment and the doctors say that I cannot be treated without an attendant,” said Rajesh. He cannot return home to Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh as he is dependent on medicines given out by the hospital. With just two thin blankets and a bedsheet with him, Rajesh has no place to go.

As a cold wave sweeps the capital, poor outstation patients like Rajesh find no roof over their heads. Though some hospitals have resthouses, that is cold comfort for the needy. GTB Hospital too has a resthouse for cancer patients, but Rajesh cannot afford the daily charge of Rs 50.

Rajpal from Ghaziabad, UP, and his wife stay on the same pavement. He broke a leg in an accident, and cannot pedal the cycle-rickshaw that is his livelihood. He too cannot go anywhere else as he needs regular checks at the hospital.

The conditions in other hospitals like the Safdarjung and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences are no different.

“We have rest houses in some hospitals. They accommodate patients who have to be here for regular check-ups and their family members,” said Dr V K Monga, chairperson, MCD Health Committee.

Unaffordable

But most of the patients are poor and cannot afford the daily charges at the rest houses. In November, AIIMS increased the rent. The rate for a single bed in a dormitory was raised from Rs 7 to Rs 20, and that of a small single room with a single bed was increased from Rs 35 to Rs 100. The rate of a room with a double bed shot up from Rs 75 to Rs 250.

“We cannot afford Rs 40 a day just for lodging. That money is needed to buy food,” said Laxmi who has come from Gopalgan in Bihar for treatment of her husband Dharamnath Shah, who has cancer of the nose.

The couple has been staying on the pavement of AIIMS since November 9. Shah was discharged from the hospital within two days of the operation. Out in the cold he was forced to stay in unhygienic conditions without the prescribed diet.

It’s tough staying out in the open in winters.

“Because of the dew, blankets get wet at nights, making the cold worse,” said Suhagwati at Safdarjung. She came from Mahoba, UP for a check-up for back pain, believing it will be a matter of few days. But she has stayed for over a month due to long intervening period between check-ups, tests, test reports and diagnosis based on the reports.

The patients dry the blankets under the sun in afternoons, only to find themselves shivering at night again.

Dr Monga said, ”Every system wants to care for its patients. But we face problems on account of infrastructure and funds. but the pressure of patients on Delhi is too high to meet the demands.”