Those who depend on the hospital for their livelihood now fear the worst are are looking at alternate sources of income
Ever since the kidney racket was busted, Hiranandani Hospital has hardly been the picture of good health.
Tainted by the scam and the arrest of five senior doctors, including the CEO and medical director, the hospital is now witnessing a steep drop in the number of patients.
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Auto driver Brijesh Gupta said they aren’t earning much since there aren’t enough patients to ferry
“The hospital had good reputation among its patients. We used to get a footfall of around 500 every day, but now it has dropped drastically,” said a senior consultant doctor from the hospital. Normally packed with patients from afar, the hospital was barely populated when mid-day visited the hospital yesterday. According to sources, the footfall has reduced by as much as 30 per cent since the racket came to light, eroding patients’ trust.
The normally crowded Hiranandani Hospital was sparsely populated when mid-day visited yesterday
“Currently, we are still getting patients from nearby areas. Before the scam, we used to get many patients from Thane and Navi Mumbai, but this has decreased suddenly,” said an employee.
This has become a matter of great concern for hundreds of contract workers, who fear that the hospital might shut down, leaving them jobless. Speaking to mid-day, a Class IV employee said, “I joined the hospital two years ago to support my family. I work in the maintenance department. I am scared of what will happen if this hospital is closed. Both my daughters are in school; I need this job to support them.” It doesn’t help that the hospital is now crawling with cops instead, with 24x7 surveillance. “Every day, police vans are stationed outside the hospital round the clock. This leaves a bad impression on the minds of the patients visiting the hospital,” said a doctor.
Sinking ship?
The first to jump off what is quickly looking like a sinking ship, are the 20 auto rickshaw drivers whose livelihood depends on the flow of patients travelling to and from the facility. This has trickled to a near stop in the last few weeks.
“Earlier, we had to wait just five minutes before getting passengers from the hospital. But now, we have to wait as much as 30 minutes. Our income has decreased due to this. Now, patients don’t even come from far off areas, so we can’t even make up for our losses by covering more distance,” said Brijesh Gupta, who has been plying in the area since 2004.
All the 20 auto drivers are planning to shift to another area due to the ongoing crisis. “We have no option but to leave the stand and go somewhere else. We can’t survive with such limited income,” said Ramesh Chauvan, another driver.
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