CUTTACK: The SCB Medical College and Hospital is set to open first-of-its-kind ward for destitutes, who are left at its mercy, from May 26. The ward will come up on the renovated building of the erstwhile pulmonary diseases ward and will start off with 20 beds initially. The adjacent abandoned jackal and dog bite ward is also being spruced up to accommodate 15 more beds, of which 10 would be for the women destitutes and five for mentally ill. The necessity for the exclusive facility for destitutes has emerged due to the increasing inflow of such patients, who are rescued from the roads or brought in by locals or Good Samaritans, but left on their own once they are admitted to the hospital. Many a time even relatives desert these patients. With no one by their side, the hospital authorities have been finding it extremely difficult to provide proper care and treatment to them. “One can find at least 20 destitute patients admitted to different wards of the hospital and taking care of them has been a huge problem for us. By housing them in a single facility, with attendants posted round-the-clock, it would be easier to provide treatment and care to them”, Superintendent Prof D N Moharana said. The hospital authorities had, in fact, last year decided to open the ward for destitutes. But the move was held back due to lack of attendants. With shortage of Class IV employees, they were unable to spare the number for the new ward. Even though help from social organisations was solicited, the amount of remuneration at ` 50 per attendant was the main hindrance. “The amount has been raised to `120 now and it would be borne out of the Swasthya Vikas Samiti funds”, Prof Moharana said. The district administration and the High Court-appointed Advocates Committee have pitched in with active support to get the facility running. Collector Girish S N on Monday convened a meeting with the hospital authorities, Committee members P R Das, Tarananda Patnaik and Dr P P Pradhan and representatives of social organisations. Social organisations like Sakha, Radhanath Swasthya Kendra and a couple of others have come forward to provide the required number of attendants. They will not only look after the treatment needs of the destitute inmates, but also other aspects including post-discharge care and rehabilitation. As many as 16 attendants are required to provide round-the-clock services at the ward. “A committee comprising Superintendent Prof Moharana, Medical Officer Dr B M Moharana and Dr P K Pradhan of the Advocates Committee has been formed for monitoring the functioning of the ward”, Collector Girish said.
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