A day after dna surveyed the out patient departments (OPDs) of KEM, Sion and JJ hospitals and found that the crumbling infrastructure and ill-mannered doctors only add to patients' woes, the authorities concerned have ensured that the lacunae will be looked into.
Reacting to the audit conducted by dna on Friday, the hospital authorities — including the additional municipal commissioner and the state medical education minister — agreed that getting treated in a clean environment and spending quality time with the doctor, among other things, are a patient's right and they will positively try to resolve the issues brought out in the audit.
"These are all very serious things and we need to resolve this issue immediately. We will discuss this issue with the dean and take necessary steps," said DP Sawant, medical education minister for state.
One of the issues raised was that none of the OPDs has proper signage in either Hindi, Marathi or English to help patients. dna found that patients visit to these hospitals for treatment not only from Mumbai and its suburbs, but from across the country.
Sawant said, "These are the smaller issues which can be managed easily. A lot of patients come from different parts of the state and country, and they should get proper information."
Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh said that the civic body will review the OPDs of the hospitals in question so the issues raised can be resolved as early as possible.
Dr Arun Bal, President, Association for Consumers Action on Safety and Health, said, "OPDs are the face of the hospital. Most patients and their relatives form an opinion about the hospital after their experience in the OPD. There is a need for discipline in the OPD."
KEM in Parel, Nair in Mumbai Central and LTMG in Sion are among the top-notch medical colleges and hospitals in India. They produce most of the country's finest doctors. But all three hospitals are creaking under the load of patients. KEM, Nair, Sion and JJ hospitals see at least 16,000 patients daily. In all, they have not more than 5,000 beds for patients requiring admission.
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