<div>In most government hospitals, patients have to wait in long queues to enter the consultation room. But at the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) Hospital, the queue begins right at the entrance. Reason? Visitors/patients are barred from taking the staircase! <br /><br />Scores of patients stand in queue in front of a lift located to the right of the entrance. During the peak hours when a good number of outpatients turn up, guards ensure the queue is properly formed and barricaded. <br /><br />The hospital closed the staircase after a patient suffering from a cardiac ailment died of heart attack while taking the stairs, according to a source. But even attendants cannot take the stairs. “I had to go to the second floor to meet a patient. I was not allowed to take the stairs. I was asked to wait for the lift instead,” said Ranjini, attendant of a patient. <br /><br />Dr P G Girish, Special Officer, PMSSY Hospital, denied that such an incident (patient dying of heart attack on the stairs) had happened. He insisted that the move was to make patients and their attendants comfortable. <br /><br />“We see patients with strokes and cardiac ailemnts who faint even on minimal exertion. To avoid any such incidents, we want them to use the lift,” he said. “I wonder why people make an issue of it when they are given comfort over hardship.”<br /><br />Dr Girish maintained that the hospital’s staircase was built to be used in case of an emergency. “It’s a fire exit. Should something happen to the patient midway, we would not even be able to assist them with ease,” he said. <br /><br />The special officer said that exclusive security guards and queue managers were deployed to ensure there was no rush during peak hours. “Fifteen people can be accommodated in each lift at a time. Our OPD section sees 500 patients every day. The facility should suffice,” he said. <br /><br />The six-storey hospital building has five lifts. Two of them are meant for outpatients and the rest for inpatients, their attendants and the hospital staff. <br /></div>
<div>In most government hospitals, patients have to wait in long queues to enter the consultation room. But at the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) Hospital, the queue begins right at the entrance. Reason? Visitors/patients are barred from taking the staircase! <br /><br />Scores of patients stand in queue in front of a lift located to the right of the entrance. During the peak hours when a good number of outpatients turn up, guards ensure the queue is properly formed and barricaded. <br /><br />The hospital closed the staircase after a patient suffering from a cardiac ailment died of heart attack while taking the stairs, according to a source. But even attendants cannot take the stairs. “I had to go to the second floor to meet a patient. I was not allowed to take the stairs. I was asked to wait for the lift instead,” said Ranjini, attendant of a patient. <br /><br />Dr P G Girish, Special Officer, PMSSY Hospital, denied that such an incident (patient dying of heart attack on the stairs) had happened. He insisted that the move was to make patients and their attendants comfortable. <br /><br />“We see patients with strokes and cardiac ailemnts who faint even on minimal exertion. To avoid any such incidents, we want them to use the lift,” he said. “I wonder why people make an issue of it when they are given comfort over hardship.”<br /><br />Dr Girish maintained that the hospital’s staircase was built to be used in case of an emergency. “It’s a fire exit. Should something happen to the patient midway, we would not even be able to assist them with ease,” he said. <br /><br />The special officer said that exclusive security guards and queue managers were deployed to ensure there was no rush during peak hours. “Fifteen people can be accommodated in each lift at a time. Our OPD section sees 500 patients every day. The facility should suffice,” he said. <br /><br />The six-storey hospital building has five lifts. Two of them are meant for outpatients and the rest for inpatients, their attendants and the hospital staff. <br /></div>