KOCHI: Two patients per bed is the norm at the male destitute ward of the Ernakulam General Hospital. However, there are times when even this norm looks like a luxury and some patients have no option but to lie on the hospital floor. Many people, most of whom are senior citizens, continue to remain at the ward even after they are discharged as they lack an alternative shelter.“There are 13 beds in the male destitute ward. But there have been times when we had to accommodate 40 patients here. The space is so less that it is impossible to accommodate more beds. Therefore, we occupy two or even three persons on a single bed. Some lie on the floor,” said a volunteer worker at the destitute ward. One of the main reasons behind the overcrowding of the ward is that many of them have nowhere to go even after they are discharged. “If a patient is to be admitted to the general ward of the hospital, then they must have one person to accompany them and to take care of their basic needs. In the absence of any company, a patient is admitted to the destitute ward. Eighty per cent of the patients are very old and have no one to take care of them or any where to go. So even after being discharged, many of them stay back. Generally, we try to find an old age home that can take them in after the treatment. However, most of these old age homes are already overcrowded and are often reluctant to take people who are old and severely ill. Therefore, it often takes us months to find them a place to stay. All this while, they remain at the destitute ward,” said the volunteer.According to the official website of the Social Welfare Department, Government of Kerala, there is only one government old age home in the district called the Old Age Home in Thevara. In addition, although the website mentions a sanctioned capacity of 100 inmates for this old age home, in reality, it has a maximum capacity of only 33 inmates.“For years, we have been asking for a shelter for the patients who are discharged. It is not possible to extend the destitute ward in the hospital because of the space constraint,“ said Dr Junied Rehman, Superintendent at the Ernakulam General Hospital.As long as the authorities continue to turn a blind eye to the need for a shelter, the inmates here, many of whom cannot even perform their basic sanitary functions, have no choice but share beds with each other. Inmates of the Inmates
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