Hyderabad: The closure of the maternity ward at the Niloufer Hospital has led to overcrowding at the government maternity hospital, Petlaburj. Over the past 10 days, about 100 women have been shifted to this hospital, exposing the shortage of beds and manpower here. At present, one bed is being shared by two patients, and it appears that the situation can worsen.
Every place one sees is full of people; the hospital stairway and all floors are chock-a-block with visitors. The maternity wards are on first and second floor, at present, they are simply insufficient.
“New mothers are forced to share their beds with other women; the nurse told me that there is a shortage of beds so we have to adjust accordingly,” said Mumtaz Begum, who delivered a boy four days ago. She added, “We have joined two beds and now four of us are sharing the space. We manage by taking turns, if one sleeps, the other will have to sit up.”
Hospital superintendent G. Pratibha said, “The work will increase naturally as the doctors who used to attend to 7-8 patients per day are now tending to 15 to 16. We are doing our best to resolve the issues of the patients.”
An official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The first and second floors are in use, but the third and fou-rth floor are still vacant as they were supposed to be used by the Osmania Hos-pital. The hospital authorities have requested the government to allot the other floors to meet the rush now.” However, sanitation and electricity work is pending on these floors, and the government may not accept our request, the official added.
