Nair hospital's direction-less paths and passages have been taking a toll on patients' relatives, besides its several other problems
With a separate building for nearly every department, the huge Nair hospital is in a pitiful condition. Pic/Bipin Kokate
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Considered among the major hospitals in the city, a 1,800-bed tertiary care centre providing training courses in more than 25 medical and allied branches, including nine super-specialty courses! What might one say then on the safety measures in such a place for patients and students? In the case of Nair hospital, non-existent. Take a walk through the premises, where over 1,000 indoor and outdoor patients can be seen daily, and you will get an idea of the neglect it lies in.
Ill-equipped for fires
"The bathrooms are never cleaned; so, it's either filthy loos or a kilometre walk to reach the public toilet," said Harshada Parmer, a resident of Virar whose husband is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Most of the fire extinguishers are expired; they were supposed to be refilled last year. A closer look inside wards reveals how several don't even have extinguishers, in contravention to safety norms. And the existing ones are lying non-functional, covered in dust.
"Authorities here don't keep a track of the extinguishers, the most important equipment in case of a fire breakout. And the fire department too isn't bothered..." said a senior doctor from the hospital. Hygiene here is nothing to boast about either - patients share their beds with cats, while their relatives, who sleep outside, have to protect their food from the animals on the premises. Also, the walls of the hospital are painted with paan stains and spits, but no one has bothered to clean them.
No sense of direction
Like other BMC-run hospitals, Nair hospital also doesn't have photo-luminescent exit signs to guide people in darkness during an emergency, neither does it have functional emergency alarm system. The exit routes are narrow, with the two main staircases of wards that act as emergency routes hardly three feet wide. The guards posted aren't trained to guide people out during an emergency either, as mid-day found out during its visit.
"We have to learn about the routes and wards by ourselves, which is a hectic job considering the size of the hospital. We had asked that authorities provide us with a soft copy of the map of the hospital showing every ward and department, but we haven't received it yet. It would have made our job easier," said a guard. As per BMC rules, all wards need to be levelled properly, but there seems to be no regard for rules here, and relatives of patients have to bear the brunt of that, made to run around without proper directions.
Activist speak
Dr Tushar Jagtap, Dermatologist and health rights activist
'Hospitals are huge structures, patients anyway have to run from one building to another for tests. The least authorities can do is put up proper signboards everywhere with directions, but alas. So, people keep moving aimlessly, which further delays treatment.'
Nirali Koradia, Animal activist
'There is a need to develop better communication between patients, their relatives and the hospital staff. Many of the guards often insult those who come for treatment, leading to further chaos'
1,500
No. OPD patients at the hospital daily
1,800
Number of beds in the hospital
9,000
Number of OPD patients who visit the hospital every day
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