Baripada: ‘Inside the hospital, man fights a battle with death while outside we are fighting a battle to stay alive’ was the spontaneous reaction of a patient’s relative who has been camping outside Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital (PRMMCH) at Rangamati in Mayurbhanj district as his brother is undergoing treatment.
A dip in mercury or an occasional shower poses problems for the attendants taking shelter outside the hospital. Those who get a space at bus stops consider themselves fortunate.
Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital was established to provide healthcare services to the locals including providing medical programmes to students. People of West Bengal and neighbouring districts also depend on this hospital.
There are good facilities available for the patients but attendants are left in the lurch. Relatives of patients are bound to spend nights under the open sky.
More than 100 attendants spend their night outside the hospital on a daily basis. There are special facilities for doctors and nurses in the hospital but no space has been made for patients’ attendants.
“Everyone is busy playing politics, but no one bothers about the plight of the poor,” said Subash Behera from Kushumi block sharing his plight with the relatives of other patients.
“Who would like to travel hundreds of kilometres for treatment? In Kushumi block, government and even private hospitals lack medical facilities. As and when someone suffers from a serious ailment, he is brought to PRMMCH for treatment. Here we get the best medical facilities at affordable prices. Though we have to run around a lot for treatment, the life of our loved ones is more important,” said Gupta.
“Earlier it was easy to spend a night outside, but due to the rain it has become difficult to sleep outdoors. We have no other option, but to sleep in the open,” said Minati Patra. Even female attendants sleep outside the hospital.
When asked, PRMMCH’s manager Sameer Kumar Mohapatra said we are planning to make a dormitory for patients’ attendants. The construction work will start soon.
PNN
