Hyderabad: Sitting with his six-day-old infant outside Gandhi Hospital, Mr Santosh is stuck, as he does not have the money to travel back to his native place in Nalgonda.
Mr Santosh, 25, had got his wife Ms Chandrakala to Gandhi Hospital for delivery. After five days, when his wife was discharged, Mr Santosh realised that whatever little money he had, he used them for medicines and he did not have any cash left to go back home.
The couple spent Monday with their two children, a one-year-old and the newborn, in the garden outside the emergency section as they had no money to go home. As the night was cold, Ms Chandrakala covered the child with an extra sari to keep the baby warm.
Mr Santosh said, “I even went to the adda near Secunderabad Railway station to get some daily work but no one was willing to give any odd jobs. I am now in a dilemma whether to go home or wait here as the newborn child will also require further check-ups.”
Confused and troubled, the couple does not know what to do. A few volunteers who are helping patients and their attendants outside the hospital have arranged for milk powder and medicines, but accommodation remains the main issue.
A senior doctor of Gandhi Hospital on condition of anonymity said, “It is a difficult situation and it is not possible to keep these patients in the hospital for too long.
The government must come up with a strategy to help these patients so that they can go back to their home and avail further paediatric care at their district public health centre.”
