The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Maternity hospital cries for attention

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Sunday, Dec 27, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Maternity hospital cries for attention

Staff Reporter

Lacks basic amenities like drinking water, power supply

Government Maternity Hospital at Jangammet handles about 50 pregnancies a month
Hygienic conditions in and around the maternity hospital are appalling

Empty beds: This 15-bed maternity hospital has no basic facilities for pregnant women and infants.

HYDERABAD: The poor conditions for patients in this hospital are many to speak of. What could have been a reliable facility for scores of pregnant women in old city has now turned into a hospital with most inhospitable conditions.

Suffering in silence

Infants and lactating mothers suffer in silence even as authorities do little to improve the hospital conditions.

For starters, there is no drinking water for mothers and infants in this Government hospital.

There is no power supply and the back-up generator was broke long ago. Despite biting cold, mothers and infants do not have hot water facility because of defunct geysers.

Also, fans, tube-lights, electricity appliances and ventilation are luxuries in this hospital.

The Government Maternity Hospital at Jangammet, old city handles about 50 pregnancies in a month, in addition to providing out-patient services to 500 expectant women everyday and tubectomy for women.

Despite appalling conditions, there is a steady stream of patients, as women cite poverty as the reason for opting for this hospital.

‘No response’

“I can’t afford to travel to Nayapul maternity hospital for monthly check up. We have been complaining about the lack of facilities in this hospital for many years now. Nobody is bothered to improve the facilities,” points out Rubina, a Falaknuma resident.

Despite being a mother and child care facility, the Government Maternity Hospital does not have a dedicated sanitary team for day to day maintenance.

As a result, the sanitary conditions in and around the hospital are appalling.

Toilets and bathing rooms are hardly being maintained.

The hospital back yard stinks, as residents nearby have started using the empty space as a public toilet.

“The doctors here encourage us to go to Nayapul hospital. They don’t even have well maintained beds for pregnant women to sleep on,” complains Begum Tabassum of Pathergatti.

Lack of staff

The hospital boasts of 15 beds but most of them are creaky and need attention. There are only three nurses and ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) and a doctor with no back up when one of the staff members take leave.

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