Patients suffer as Cuttack SCB special ward for destitute runs beyond capacity

A special ward for the treatment of destitute patients has been set up at SCB Medical College and the Hospital in Cuttack. However, the ward has become a matter of concern for the hospital as three-fold patients are currently staying in the ward than the number of available beds.

Though many patients among them have recovered and been discharged, they are still staying in the ward as nobody is taking them and the medical is not sending them anywhere. The special ward of the hospital has become a permanent old age home for them.

As per social activists, the destitute patients are forced to stay at the special ward of the hospital as nobody is there to take care of them.

“So many destitute patients are staying in the special ward beyond its capacity and as a result they are suffering a lot. As part of the solution, either the room should be extended or the patients should be shifted elsewhere,” said Deepak Acharya, a social worker.

“I was sitting near a temple during Covid time and we were brought here. My children are not ready to take me from here since then,” said a destitute.

The special ward was set up at the SCB medical in 2016. The ward was initially opened for the destitute patients of Surgery Department and subsequently it was extended for the Orthopaedics, Medicine and Gynaecology Departments. While there were 15 beds for the Orthopaedics Department in the ward, as many as 34 destitute patients are staying there. Similarly, 33 patients are staying in 21 beds of the Surgery Department and 99 patients are staying in 33 beds of the Medicine Department.

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Though as many as three ashrams for the old age people have been set up in Subhadrapur, Jagatpur and Bayalis Mouza areas, the destitute patients are not shifted there after their recovery due to a lack of proper coordination between the hospital and ashram authorities.

“We have not got any letter for the last two months and as a result, no recovered patient has been accepted by us,” said Surendra Kumar Behera, a caretaker of Anandalaya in Cuttack.

“We have contacted the registered old age homes in Cuttack. However, they don’t have the capacity to accept recovered destitute patients anymore. We have discussed the issue in the last health development meeting. We have been promised that steps will be taken to shift some recovered patients so that other destitute patients will get proper treatment,” said Dr Abinash Raut, Registrar of SCB Medical College and Hospital.