Photos: 'Surviving on Langars, Living in Tents, Life of Patients Outside AIIMS'

According to data provided by AIIMS Delhi,1,68,061 out of 2,84,468 patients were from outside Delhi in Jan 2024.

Hundreds of outstation patients camp outside AIIMS in Delhi

Photo Credit: Huda Ayisha and Syed Muskan

You know you’ve reached AIIMS when you see patients waiting in line from the subway to the doctor's room for days, months and even years. Travelling to and from their hometowns is an expensive affair for these patients. So, they are forced to camp outside metro stations, roads, and subways. This, in a way, also indicates the inadequacy of regional medical facilities. According to the official data provided by the AIIMS Media Cell & Protocol Division, 1,68,061 out of 2,84,468 patients were from outside Delhi in Jan 2024.  

According to the AIIMS Media Cell & Protocol Division report, approximately 3,750-4,000 patients come to AIIMS for treatment daily from outside Delhi. This picture was taken on a winter morning in which children and their parents are seen sleeping in the subway between AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital.

Rakat Paswan, a daily wage earner from Mahua, Bihar, has been waiting for the past five months for the surgery of his son Sanjeeb Kumar. Kumar has a problem with his spinal cord. He claims that the doctors are delaying the surgery and raises concerns over the non-availability of specialised departments in the regional hospitals.

Seventy-year-old Rasheedan from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, has been waiting in the subway for two months. She has cholelithiasis and finds it difficult to live in the subway with her two daughters. She said, “We went to hospitals in Amroha, but the treatment is not like AIIMS. I don't know the date for my surgery.” 

I came across Zainab and her mother. Zainab is sitting in her mother’s lap. Zainab, whose mother is unsure what she is suffering from, has been visiting AIIMS since 2021. She said, “Zainab is suffering from problems with her internal organs. Her organs are coming out of her reproductive tract,” she said. 

Shaan Mohamood from UP’s Mayanpuri, lies awake in the subway between AIIMS and Safdarjung. Completely bedridden and equipped with an IV drip in one hand, he narrates his story. He has cancer. His treatment started one year ago, and he has been in AIIMS for the past four months. He said, “We eat what the NGOs and langars organised by people.” 

Arbaaz, an 18-year-old from UP’s Bareilly, has been visiting AIIMS for the past four years along with his mother for kidney dialysis. He claims there is no government dialysis centre in his area, and private dialysis is too expensive. He, like others, was previously staying on the road and now seeks refuge in this temporary NGO-run shelter.  

With tokens in hand, patients wait outside AIIMS to receive food from the NGO-operated food truck.

The outstation patients rely on the government, NGO and langars to satisfy their hunger. At times, they are left with only one morsel a day. 

Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) has set up temporary camps in December during the harsh winters. Around 12 camps have been set up around AIIMS but will be removed by March. The camp does not include any toilet facilities. 

Lalitha Devi, from Bihar’s Madhubani, sits outside AIIMS metro station along with her husband. She is suffering from multiple diseases. Her husband says that her gallbladder is in failure, along with other skin diseases on her leg. Due to the lack of required departments in their regional hospitals, they have come to AIIMS, leaving their children and livelihoods in question. 

A patient with a suction machine was waiting outside the Department of Oncology for her turn.

Patients dry their clothing on the adjoining road railing. 

In charge of the Media Cell and Protocol Division, Prof Reema Dada said, “We are seeing about 4.5 million patients and performing about 2 lakh surgeries annually. In AIIMS, the delays are never intentional, they are due to high patient flow, especially with cases of surgical emergencies that must be attended to urgently over other surgeries.”  

 

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