The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has suo motu registered a case based on reports that several patients are lying on the floor at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode.
The action comes in the wake of media reports on Friday that the 11 wards under the Department of General Medicine are overcrowded, and that many people have to sleep on the floor as all beds are occupied. After the ward floors were occupied, people were found sleeping on the corridors and verandas as well. They have to step aside when trolleys carrying patients comes through the corridor. With incessant rain, the patients, even those who cannot stand up on their own, have to lie down on the cold floors.
The sudden increase in the number of patients suffering from viral fever, quite common during the monsoon, has resulted in the situation. Of the 11 wards under the department, ward 7 has been temporarily closed for repairs, which has made matters worse.
The Commission member K. Baijunath has asked the Superintendent of the hospital to find a solution to the issue immediately, and submit a report in a week.
