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Home Guard jawans on vigil at MGM hospital in Sakchi last week. Picture by Bhola Prasad
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State-run MGM Medical College and Hospital in Sakchi is in dire need of fresh blood to make its security machinery effective.
Established in 1961, the 520-bed heal hub is largely dependent on a frail squad of 14 home guards — most of them out-of-shape or aged — to secure its vulnerable premises.
Sources claim the hospital management had requested the district administration for 100 jawans, but was given only these many. Result: Rise in crime on the premises that has put a question mark on the safety of patients and their visiting relatives.
MGM authorities said that at least 100 Home Guard jawans were needed in three shifts to secure the hospital and its surroundings. “We are likely to get 33 more, who are currently posted at various exam centres,” said superintendent S.S. Prasad.
He admitted they were facing an acute manpower crunch as fare as security was concerned. “Ours is a very big hospital, where Home Guards need to posted at every nook and cranny. The patient inflow is huge and we need adequate security cover for the safety of visitors,” he said.
The hospital superintendent added that the contract of a private agency, which had been entrusted with the job of securing the hospital premises, had expired on February 28 this year. “We then floated a tender to appoint another private agency. However, no one came forward. Hence, we were forced to ask for deployment of Home Guards according to directives from the health department,” Prasad said.
An attendant at the surgical ward added that till the time the tender was finalised the hospital would be under the guard of these 14 jawans. “There are chances that the 33 promised Home Guards are not released for hospital duty after the examinations are over,” he sounded sceptical.
The MGM premises, which receives over 200 patients, has become a crime den in recent times with incidents of thefts, drunken brawls, assaults, snatching and eve-teasing being reported almost daily.
Sources said earlier, the private security agency employed 90 guards who worked in three shifts to secure the premises. While two of the guards on night duty were provided with arms, the rest of them wielded lathis.
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