Post News Network
Cuttack, Jan 15: The medicine ward at the SCB Medical College and Hospital is reeling under a shortage of beds because of the lackadaisical attitude of hospital authorities, who have shown little interest in increasing the number of beds.
As a result, patients are allegedly seen lying on the veranda of the medicine ward.
The state government has sanctioned 502 beds for the medicine ward, but the hospital authorities have made 340 beds operational and this is why patients are being inconvenienced, sources claimed.
As many as 1,88,831 patients have visited the outpatient wing of the medicine ward in 2013-14 with 37,831 of them being admitted, according to the hospital records. In the same period, 4,686 patients have died in the ward, the records show.
Patients suffering from jaundice, malaria and other such diseases get admission in the medicine ward. However, many of them have to sleep on veranda because of the shortage of beds.
Padmini of Chanchapada said it is really difficult for patients to sleep in the verandah in winter. Had the authorities experienced the pain patients are undergoing, they would have made some other arrangement, she said.
There is also a dearth of saline bottle stands, pointed out another patient, Makar Behera of Salepur.
SCB superintendent Pratap Rath said a proposal has been sent to the state government to increase the number of beds in the medicine and surgery wards.
Administrative officer Pratap Mishra said plans are afoot to construct a new building on hospital premises to sort out the problem.