Government hospital complexes have become a shelter to stray dogs and are fast turning into a menace with several flocking the compounds during odd hours in the night. The recent increase in the number of dogs in the GB Pant and lok Nayak (lN) Hospital complex has created an obstruction in the smooth functioning of the hospital, especially during emergency hours.
According to the staff at GB Pant Hospital, the dogs come in packs during the night which creates a problem for ambulances during emergency. “They are a complete nuisance and especially when the area is a little empty. They crowd around ambulances and bark endlessly. This causes delay in treatment as we are not able to take the patient inside quickly,” said a doctor at the emergency ward.
The guards in the area, too, are perpetually distressed because of the issue. One of the guards posted at lN Hospital’s gate said, “We are constantly reprimanded by the staff for letting the dogs inside, but there is little we can do. Most dogs enter from the gaps in the boundary due to broken wire-mesh. Once they are in, we can’t do anything.”
Delhi’s lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung pointed out the issue as well during his recent visit to lN Hospital. But there is not much that can be done to curb this problem because of existing laws. One of the reasons cited by the local authorities is the dirt around teastalls in the foyer. However, measures for sanitation have been taken up by the respective hospitals. “Fencing was the only suggestion given to us and that was actually all we could seek. But even with the fencing, the problem persists. The only way is to make sure they don’t get in. We are trying to make the boundaries as tamperproof as we can but then there is always some way they get in,” said Medical Superintendent of lN Hospital, Dr Sidharth Ramji.
The patients are the biggest sufferers. A few attendants who had been staying the night in the premises of the hospital complex said that at night the dogs go rogue. “The patients who are waiting to get a room or get admitted are prone to infection as well because these dogs keep sniffing around. Even if we are lying on the floor, they disturb us,” he added.
As per the security guards at the main gate of the complex, a few dogs were taken away by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) a few days ago, but they were brought back to the locality on Wednesday. “They take them away for vaccination and then bring them back. The number of dogs here is just increasing by the day. They don’t harm anyone but they are all over the place. At any given hour, you will see at least 20-30 dogs around tea stalls outside the hospital. Some even get into waiting lounges or the OPD because it is cooler. We scare them away but sometimes they go hide in corners,” informed a guard.