Mumbai: Heart patient at Sion Hospital goes to pee, loses his bed

Patients at Sion hospital now have to guard their beds as fiercely as the fourth seat in a rush hour local train If they do so much as move to go to the washroom their bed will be given to someone else Thats exactly what happened to cardiac patient Arun Kumar Kongari 34 whose bed was given to another patient in the few minutes he left it to go to the washroomThanks to the construction work going on in the ward building patients are being forced to share beds Some of them even end up sleeping on the floor because it is more comfortable For Kongari however this condition worsened on Saturday December 29While patients are forced to share beds some also end up sleeping on the floor because it is more comfortableKongari whod undergone angioplasty in 2015 was admitted to the hospital on December 16 after he complained of breathlessness He was admitted into the ICU and shifted to ward 32 on December 19 Like other patients he was sharing a bed with his neighbour being one Nikhil Pradeep KapdneBed today gone tonightOn Saturday around 2 am Kongari got up from his bed and made his way to the washroom By the time he was back his bed had been given to another patient I was so shocked to see another patient on my bed I was already sharing my bed with a second patient In the five minutes that I was in the washroom my side of the bed was given to a third patient and I was asked to look for a bed he saidWhen he complained about the situation to hospital officials the third patient was shifted to another bed The situation is so horrible that were scared to even go to the washroom or take a stroll in the hospital We keep sitting on our beds At night when patients fail to sleep together they often sleep on the floor which is more comfortable Because of that one side of the bed next to me was vacant so they shifted Nikhil there he saidTwo patients have to share one bed because of the ongoing construction work at the hospitalConstruction to blameThe situation is same in almost all of the wards due to ongoing construction work in the ward building Several wards have been closed for it putting additional pressure on the remaining ones Though many patients are being referred to other hospitals the situation is turning into a nightmare for patients and doctors All of this is happening at the major BMCrun hospital that receives a footfall of 2000 people every dayA resident doctor at the hospital said A part of the hospital is under construction which is being undertaken in three phases The first phase has been completed and the second phase has started due to which several wards have been closed down This is leading to the pressure Were also trying to accommodate the patients in the availed space but considering the overflow of patients it is turning into a nightmare said a resident doctor from the hospitalPatients often end up sleeping on the floor at nightDean saysSpeaking to midday Dr Jayashree Mondkar dean of Sion hospital said the hospital shouldnt be blamed for the problem She said the construction is being done to extend the bed capacity of the hospital up to 1900 bedsBeing a civicrun hospital we cant send any patient back so were taking in all the patients Its not like theyre not getting treatment The hospital is getting an upgrade so what can we do We could not have made any space in an alternative building to shift the patients before starting the work Upon being asked why the patients are not being referred to other hospitals she said There is no space in KEM or Nair either They are also under pressure We cant refer patients to private hospitals If we do we will be blamed for taking commission No one is highlighting how were upgrading the hospitalSharing bedsviolates rulesDr Saeeda Khan a member of the BMC health panel and a corporator of the Nationalist Congress Party NCP said that this issue had already been raised in the health committee meeting Sharing a bed with other patients is in complete violation of BMCs rules and can cause infections to spread among patients Who has given them the right to keep two patients on a single bed There is a need for proper planning Wed suggested referring patients to KEM and Nair hospitals except if the patient is in a critical condition We need to know why they are being kept together Ill look into the matter After speaking to the hospital authority Khan was informed that other wards are also facing the same problem A suggestion was made to procure foldable beds for patients Wed clearly told the BMC health authority that the hospital needs foldable beds but they dont have it yet So there are three patients per bed two on the bed and one below which is inhuman she saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates