"Tum kaun ho? Yahan kya kar rahi ho? Yahan photo khechna mana hai. Upar se order hai, mobile andar rakho." (Who are you? What are you doing here? You are not allowed to take photographs. This is an order, keep the mobile phone inside)."
A security guard outside the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) shouted at me, while I was taking photos and making a video.
The deteriorating condition of PMCH has been an open secret for a long time. Media is not allowed. There are far more security guards stationed outside the hospital than at a bank.
Apparently, many media persons have been beaten up by the security guards for highlighting the condition of the hospital and taking photos.
The security guards also got hold of my phone and deleted the photographs which I had initially taken.
While I was at the hospital, I spoke to many family members at the hospital. All resonated with similar sentiments. "Agar mere pass paisa hota, toh main yahan kabhi nahi aati." (If I had the money, I would have never come here.)".
A patient being treated by a doctor outside a ward.
(Photo credit: Sana Ejaz)
"Marizo ko marne ke leye yahan chor deya jata hai. Koi humari baat nahi sunta, hum kis se shikayt kare, hum kaha jaye?" (Patients are kept here to die. No one listens to us, where do we go and complain?) A patient's daughter told me.
I saw the family members holding the patient with a piece of cloth, they were probably going to transfer him to another ward. There was no one to handle the patient.
A patient being carried in a blanket by relatives.
(Photo credit: Sana Ejaz)
The arrival of doctors is not known, I heard a relative of a patient shouting, "Call the doctor, the patient is having trouble breathing".
A crowded ward of PMCH.
(Photo credit: Sana Ejaz)
Where Are The Doctors?
Patients who are waiting to be treated are placed in the corridors. There are times when their condition deteriorates, and unfortunately, the patient passes away even before the doctor comes to examine them.
I asked a family member how satisfied they were with the treatment, he said, "Sahab log (senior doctors) toh Chhath mana rahe hai ab tak, khali junior doctor log aate hai, woh bhi kabhi kabhar." (All the doctors are still on Chhath puja leave, only junior doctors come on routine visits.) No senior doctors are available, nor was there an adequate arrangement of medicines.
Some of the patient's families also accuse doctors of misbehaving with them often.
Prem Yadav, 55-year-old, spoke to me and said, "I am from Patna, my father had a heart attack, and we brought him to PMCH for treatment. There were no doctors, and we were asked to wait. After waiting for about seven hours, a nurse went to see my father. My father died while waiting for the doctor to come."
Patient's attendants queue outside the registration counter.
(Photo credit: Sana Ejaz)
Yadav couldn't hold back his tears and further added, "Here the patients are left to die, and nurses wait for that to happen so that a bed is available. Life is taken here, my father died due to the negligence of the hospital authorities."
"Hum garib log hai. Hum shikayat nahi kar sakte." ("We are poor people, we cannot complain much.") When I talked to Jameel Akhtar, one of the relatives of a patient, who has kidney problems, he said, that the patient's condition worsened after coming here and there is not facilities.
Families Raise a Stink Over Smelly Air In The Hospital
There was garbage spill everywhere outside the post-mortem ward. The hospital alone is a hub of deadly diseases. It is nothing but the compulsion of the people to get the treatment done here amidst the filth. The foul smell emanating from the pile of rotting garbage is becoming a problem for the people and due to this, the patients are at risk of getting infected.
Overflowing trash cans at PMCH.
(Photo credit: Sana Ejaz)
Walls of the hospital in a poor state.
(Photo credit: Sana Ejaz)
Still Waiting For The Situation to Improve
Patna Medical College and Hospital is one of the oldest and the biggest government hospital and medical college in Patna, Bihar. People from the lower-income group from across the country come here for treatment.
In many reports, negligence in the hospital has been exposed. On 7 September, late night Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Tejashwi Yadav conducted a surprise inspection at PMCH.
Tejashwi Yadav spoke to reporters and said, "There were no medicine arrangements or hygiene. Patients were not being provided facilities & negligence was seen. There was no attendance & people were lying; their lies were caught... We'll oversee everything."
But now it has been more than two months, and the condition has not improved yet. Situation in the Tata ward has further deteriorated. Looking at the current situation, it does not seem that the flaws have been fixed. It is not known when the condition of PMCH will improve, and how long the patients will have to wait.
(The author of the story is a student of journalism at Patna Women's College.)
(The Quint has reached out to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). Their response is awaited. Story would be updated once a response is received.)
(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
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