Going beyond the sterile fear-inducing ‘white coat syndrome’ and adding colour to the lives of several children, the lok Nayak Hospital has opened a new paediatric ward in their recently-constructed Out Patient Department (OPD) which has been decorated by students of the Delhi College of Art. With butterfly paintings and stories on the wall, the ward is colourfully designed to do away with the mundane atmosphere of a hospital.
Situated on the fifth floor of the seven-storey OPD, the paediatric ward is a world different than the rest of the hospital. While all the walls have been painted with acrylics, the construction is also playful. The walls dividing rooms are arched and there are few corridors to avoid suffocation. This is also the first time in the Capital that a Government hospital has designed their paediatric ward this way. However, the credit goes to medical superintendent Dr Sidharth Ramji.
Being a paediatrician, Dr Ramji said that it was his dream to have the paediatric ward designed this way. “I always believe that kids need a fun and happy place to recover. Hospitals are too depressing for them and any ward where they are admitted should look nice. Thus, when the new OPD was coming up, I took personal interest in the designing,” added Dr Ramji.
Ramji was just going to keep the ward colourful until he came across the students of Delhi College of Arts. “They are exceptional artists. I asked them to put something lively on the walls,” he added. “It also has a playing area for kids. It will open to public in a few days,” said a nurse.
Parents who had brought their child to the ward were happy with its new look. “We never thought a Government hospital would turn into this. The paintings lighten the atmosphere,” said a three-year-old patient’s parent, Bala Devi.