In a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at solidifying trust regarding assistance to the patients by Government hospitals, State Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Dr T Rajaiah spent a night at Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad.
He examined some patients, spoke to the doctors and nurses and took stock of the working conditions of the hospital. Rajaiah went to the hospital on Monday evening and returned on Tuesday morning, shocked over what he had seen in the hospital.
During his 12-hour stay Rajaiah had first-hand experience of the problems faced by the patients. He was witness to how the attendants were being forced to carry their patients on trolleys by themselves, as no staff was available to help them.
He also saw the bags packed with garbage dumped on the road outside the hospital. While several patients and their relatives complained of the absence of facilities and proper care, nurses told the Minister that they were facing hardship in the absence of a better hostel facility.
The Minister also found the historic building in shambles, crumbling structure and plaster peeled off at many places. “There is a need of constructing a new building but the heritage rules are coming in the way,” he said adding that the Government will hold talks with the heritage activists on the issue.
“People have lost faith in the Government hospitals. I want to win back the confidence,” Rajaiah said.
Rajaiah took the surprise decision to spend a night at the hospital following the Opposition parties’ criticism of the pathetic and deplorable conditions in the Government hospitals especially in Osmania Hospital.
Area legislator and MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi had raised the issue in the Assembly and said no equipment is functional in the hospital and poor patients are being forced to go to the private institutions to get their tests done at exorbitant prices.
Osmania Hospital, built by the Nizams in 1908, is the oldest and the biggest Government hospital in the State which has fallen on hard times thanks to neglect by successive Governments.