Patna, May 15: More often than not the medical fraternity is held responsible for deaths of patients in government hospitals. But nobody ever spares a thought about the conditions they are forced to live to discharge duties.
For instance, the hostels for accommodating doctors of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). One look around the hostels is enough to prove how the doctors risk their lives in the line of duty.
Live electric wires lying dangerously in the hostel corridor, floors lie strewn with garbage and the washrooms are filthy. Even slums will score better on sanitation, amenities and safety than the doctors’ hostels at PMCH. Stray dogs and not security guards welcome you when you enter any of the doctors’ hostels.
Sources said about 1,000 undergraduate and postgraduate medical students virtually run PMCH. However, the living conditions in the hostels can send a chill down one’s spine. Lack of maintenance, basic amenities, hygiene and security are some of the major issues in all five hostels meant for doctors. Medicos complain that many of the hostels constructed about five decades back, have never been renovated.
Damp, dingy, mice-infested rooms with broken walls and floors are a common sight in the hostel. “The condition of the hostel where I stay is pathetic, to say the least. Medicos often fall prey to diseases like diarrhoea and jaundice because of unclean water,” rued a postgraduate student staying in hostel on top of the outpatient department.
Security, said doctors, is also a major cause of concern. “I have never seen any security guard at the entrance. Stray dogs are always there to greet us though. In the evenings, rowdies gather and consume alcohol at the entrance and leave used bottles behind. But there is no one to take care of our plight,” complained another junior doctor residing in postgraduate hostel-I.
“The problems in the hostels make them akin to living hells. We do not get quality food, safe drinking water or clean rooms. There is just one sweeper for the entire hostel and even he does not come regularly. We hire cleaners from outside to get our rooms cleaned but corridors and common areas are never cleaned,” said a third-year medical student.
He added that theft is a common feature in the hostels. Asked why the college failed to improve the condition of the hostels, he said: “Action will be taken soon.” However, he was evasive when The Telegraph asked about his exact plan of action.