Mumbai safety audit: Nair hospital's directionless path takes toll on patients

With a separate building for nearly every department the huge Nair hospital is in a pitiful condition PicBipin KokateConsidered among the major hospitals in the city a 1800bed tertiary care centre providing training courses in more than 25 medical and allied branches including nine superspecialty courses What might one say then on the safety measures in such a place for patients and students In the case of Nair hospital nonexistent Take a walk through the premises where over 1000 indoor and outdoor patients can be seen daily and you will get an idea of the neglect it lies inIllequipped for firesThe bathrooms are never cleaned so its 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 dont even have extinguishers in contravention to safety norms And the existing ones are lying nonfunctional covered in dustAuthorities here dont keep a track of the extinguishers the most important equipment in case of a fire breakout And the fire department too isnt 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 themNo sense of directionLike other BMCrun hospitals Nair hospital also doesnt have photoluminescent 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 arent trained to guide people out during an emergency either as midday found out during its visitWe 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 havent 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 directionsActivist speakDr Tushar Jagtap Dermatologist and health rights activistHospitals 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 treatmentNirali Koradia Animal activistThere 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 chaos1500No OPD patients at the hospital daily1800Number of beds in the hospital9000Number of OPD patients who visit the hospital every dayCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go