Vijayawada: State women commission chairperson Nannapaneni Rajakumari was on Tuesday visibly shocked at the state of the maternity wards in the government hospital here. Ms Rajakumari, who sprang a surprise by visiting the wards, expressed her distress at the facilities and infrastructure available in the hospital for the benefit of woman patients. The sight of two women who had just given birth, being forced to share one bed along with their newborns was particularly shocking, she said.
Speaking to the media, Ms Rajakumari said the government was able to attract the attention of many patients with its schemes, but it had failed to improve facilities and infrastructure in the hospitals simultaneously. She said that during her last visit to the hospital, there were 270 patients. “Now the number has shot up to 860, but the number of beds has remained constant,” Ms Rajakumari said.
She also expressed her dissatisfaction over the number of staff, saying that three post graduate doctors and 13 graduates were not sufficient to cater to the the increasing number of patients. Ms Rajakumar added that the government has began constructing new wards and buildings, but it was not concentrating on increasing infrastructure and facilities along with providing hygienic washrooms. “I have already taken these issues to the notice of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu,” Ms Rajakumari said.
