At least seven voluntary organisations are now affiliated to the SCB Medical College Hospital here and each has engaged an unsubstantiated number of volunteers to attend to destitute patients admitted to different departments. Sources privy to voluntary services claim that these organisations pocket lakhs of rupees every month from the State Government and corporate houses in the name of providing services to the destitute patients.
The ground reality is far from true, said a volunteer, who has been associated with the hospital activities. “Me and three of my friends each have been providing at least four hours of services everyday to the destitute patients without any remuneration whatsoever for nearly 20 years now,” said the social worker requesting to remain anonymous.
But it was revealed from the same source that another voluntary organisation by engaging only nine volunteers is claiming a monthly remuneration of Rs 1.65 lakh from a State-owned corporation. Other voluntary organisations too are milking the Government whereas the destitute patients are seen lying unattended to at several places of the hospital.
In the wake of a series of media reports about this state of affairs recently after the death of an old man on Sunday, the hospital authorities along with some volunteers picked up at least two patients from two different locations on Tuesday and admitted them for treatment.
However, no effort for implementation of the announcement of the Hospital Superintendent on Monday that five departments would have exclusive wards for destitute patients has yet started.
Mainly, the old-age patients abandoned by their relatives, extremely weak patients without food and money and accident victims find it extremely difficult to get admissions in the hospital.
These destitute patients take shelter under trees or hospital verandas and are left unattended for several days to die without treatment and care, the volunteer said.