Stretchers at govt hospitals stretch agony of patients

Not so caring

When Vijendra Kumar arrived in east Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital a few days ago in a private ambulance with bare minimum facilities, he was expecting a better ride from the entrance to the emergency ward of the hospital.

But even a minute’s ride on the naked hot metal stretcher seemed like an hour to him.
Having recovered considerably now and not having a bed anymore, Kumar has clung on to another stretcher. But he has made sure to pad up the uncomfortable trolley with a thick mattress and a clean bedsheet.

According to rules, proper facilities should have been provided by the hospital. But despite the need for great hygiene and comfort for patients, many of the major government-run hospitals have wheeled patients around on naked and unhygienic stretchers.

The very few that have provided disposable sheets have either not maintained consistency in providing them on all the stretchers, or havenot given basic mattresses to put on the trolleys.

A first glance at the entrance of the emergency ward of Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital gives the idea that they care about hygiene. The stretchers there have disposable sheets taped to them. But a closer look shows the real picture.

Bloodstained bandages and intravenous pipes dangle from the stretchers. Mattresses do not pad up the trolleys either. The sheets too are restricted just to the stretchers outside the emergency ward. None of the stretchers inside has either of the facilities.

The sister-in-charge of the casualty ward blamed poor maintenance and hygiene on lack of sufficient staff. When told that none of the stretchers in the hospital had mattresses, she said either the mattresses are stolen by patients or are taken by other departments of the hospital.

Be it AIIMS, Lok Nayak Hospital, GB Pant Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital or EDMC’s Swami Dayanand Hospital, they are all lacking when it comes to stretchers.

While the stretchers at Lok Nayak Hospital were well managed in terms of hygiene, none of them had mattresses or sheets over them despite the hospital staff acknowledging that there is provision for such facilities.

“Our boys clean blood and saliva right away after a patient is taken off the stretchers. But there is no point giving mattresses when we know for sure that very few will be returned. What are mattresses when wheelchairs are carried away from the hospital?” said an official of the hospital.

Patients in the orthopedic department there can get mattresses on submitting an identity proof. But it gives a fair idea of how difficult it is for any patient to avail the very basic facilities. While patients at AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital do with totally naked stretchers, GB Pant Hospital has its trolleys in order.