Mumbai: Patients, families at Bombay Hospital go without drinking water

The water filter nozzle and the basin (right) Choked with bags carrying some white material, hiding the tap from view

Are you headed to the OPD at Bombay Hospital? Make sure you have your own water bottle. The drinking-water facility outside this department on the first floor has been lying non-functional for months. So, the only options for the unwell are waiting thirsty or climbing up to the second floor, where, too, the facility is not exactly up to the mark with glasses unavailable often.

And despite the unforgiving summer, with temperature hovering at 34 degrees Celsius, hospital authorities haven't bothered to fix the issue.

Parched!
"The drinking-water facility on this (first) floor is not working. You have to go to the second floor," said a staffer, when mid-day visited the hospital yesterday and asked about it.

Patients wait outside the OPD on the first floor

This reporter then saw that the water system had been hidden behind several junk items. Every day, more than 100 patients, many of them senior citizens, visit the OPD here. Raresh Dave, who had accompanied his grandmother to the hospital, told mid-day they had to wait for over 30 minutes to see the doctor. During the wait, when his grandmother started feeling thirsty, no hospital staffer could guide him properly to get the drinking water. So, he had go out and buy a bottle.

"My grandmother is 71 years old and was feeling extremely thirsty. I asked around where I could get drinking water, but no one knew. Finally, someone told me the facility is not working; so, I went out to buy it," said Dave.

Find your way
If this isn't enough, finding the drinking-water facility on the second floor is nothing short of manoeuvring a maze. When mid-day asked the guards and other staffers on the second floor about it, no one seemed aware of it.

"There are two water sources on the second floor, but it is tough for patients who are unaware of the locations. So, they keep roaming in search of it. Also, many times, there are no glasses there either. We had informed the admin department, to make it easier for patients, but nothing has happened," said a senior doctor.

mid-day made attempts to reach hospital spokesperson Dr Sagar Sakle, but he didn't respond. Medical Superintendent Dr R K Choudhary said, "I will look into it. Thanks for informing."

Also read: Bombay Hospital Horror: Deceased's family alleges negligence by authorities

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