Wenlock 'home' for many 'faithful inmates'

Patients return to hospital within few hours, when discharged

They say, home is where the heart lives and in the case of 25 people who entered the portals of District Wenlock Hospital as patients, this hospital is the place where their hearts live.

These ‘faithful inmates’ have fallen in love with the hospital to the extent that they refuse to leave the premises despite the hospital declaring them fit for discharge. Surprisingly there are substantially good number of patients who have occupied the beds in different wards of this hospital promptly since four to five years and claim the hospital to be their home sweet home.

With these permanent inmates, the hospital authorities are only wondering how to get rid of them so that beds and the facilities could at least be given to some other genuinely deserving patients.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Regional Medical Officer and acting District Surgeon Dr Saroja said that out of 25, most of them are destitute from Dakshina Kannada district who have nobody to bank on, some are bedridden cases who cannot be discharged because they have nobody to take them, some are beggars who create nuisance in the premises if sent out and some are those who are fit and fine and even have families but are too lazy to go out and earn a living.

“We have given discharge letter even to the bedridden cases but unfortunately since most of them do not have families, we cannot be harsh. In case of destitute, we tried rehabilitating them at the destitute home at Pachchanady but since the Centre was full, we could not go ahead with the plan.

If we send them out, these people make a come back within few hours, complaining of severe health disorders. We are helpless because if we shun them out, then they make hue and cry about it,” says the RMO adding that some even dress up and leave the ward in the morning. They loiter in the hospital premises begging for alms only to return to the ward in the evening with sufficient money for the day!

Of the 25, six are women (three in surgery ward and three in medical). One of them had come in 2008 and has never gone back. However, one of the women who has been here since last three years says that she lost her kids in Tsunami and hence has nowhere to go. There are 19 male patients living in the hospital, of whom, one is deaf and dumb. Several male inmates are bedridden.

Three totally bedridden patients who had been living in the hospital for over six months died over last few weeks owing to acute health problems and old age.

District Wenlock Hospital spends over Rs 30 per day on each patient for food. The hospital gives idly-sambar/chutney for breakfast with tea, fish four times a week, egg twice a week. Vegetarian food is given to patients every Friday. After serving the poor and the ailing patients for over a century, the hospital from time to time has been seeing such permanent inmates and has been housing them without any other option.