Patients endure painful nights as many hospitals remain closed

“On Friday night around 7 pm, I suddenly developed severe pain in my abdomen for the reason I did not know initially. The pain was unbearable and my sister tried to take me to a nearby hospital only to find it closed. We tried two or three hospitals that night in vain,” A Surender, a resident of RK Nagar, said.

He added that he and his sister were roaming the area in search of 24-hour hospitals. After suffering the pain for over 2 hours, the siblings could find a hospital open but the facility there was not enough to diagnose the reason for the pain or to admit him.

“The doctors at the hospital gave me some injections to reduce the pain. However, they asked us to go to any bigger hospital as they do not have facilities. While I am at the hospital, a woman with an injury on the head came for treatment but the hospital provided only first aid and sent her back,” he said.

Surendar’s sister, Sofia Bema Rani, pointed out that due to the lockdown, 24-hour hospitals are not functioning in the city leaving patients in need of emergency attention alone.

“I left Surendar at the hospital and went out to find any bigger hospitals remaining open. However, a huge corporate hospital was also not taking patients. My brother had to go to bed at 2 am with severe pain. The government should make a list of 24-hour hospitals in the city that are open at night so that we could reach in time. On the next day, he was diagnosed with kidney stones,” she said.

When contacted, TS Selvavinayagam, director of public health said, “Hospitals should provide treatment for the patients. If they deny any patient, there are provisions for taking action against such hospitals. If we receive complaints, we will definitely take action.”