What do residents of Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Tripura have in common? Sure, there are similarities in food, culture, and several other things, but there is one hospital in Silchar, which, depending on where you live in Manipur, Mizoram or Tripura, can be your only lifeline. And if you are a resident of Barak Valley, this is your only option. We are talking about the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH), one of the oldest healthcare hubs in the Northeast and the only medical college in southern Assam’s Barak Valley, where pictures of neglect have once again ignited a debate on the state of public health services in Assam.
According to several people who visited the hospital in the last few weeks, multiple roofs and windows are broken and water (when it rains) enters the hospital causing problems and inconvenience for visitors. Walls can be found stained with gutkha and paan spits. Toilets and floors can be found extremely dirty and emanating stinking smells. Cleaning is not done daily, leaving the toilet and floors of the hospital in terrible condition. Apart from that, stagnant water and garbage can be found in the hospital campus and these serve as a breeding place for flies and mosquitoes, the locals added.
Fed up with the condition, Subhojit Dutta, a Silchar resident, posted a few pictures of the SMCH on social media a few days ago and tried drawing the SMCH authorities’ attention to the hospital’s condition.
SMCH, established in 1968, is the biggest government-run health facility in this valley. Barak Valley has several government-run major hospitals including the Silchar Civil Hospital, Karimganj Civil Hospital, and S. K. Roy Civil Hospital (in Hailakandi).
Talking to EastMojo, Subhojit said he had visited SMCH in June and found it in abysmal condition. “Waters (presumably rain waters) were there on some floors. Gutkha and paan stains were there on walls, floors and stairs. Some walls were broken and there was garbage in a few areas inside the hospital. I hope the SMCH authorities will take note of the matter and initiate necessary steps to improve the hospital’s overall condition,” Subhojit said.
The post by Subhojit garnered the attention of several netizens who shared about having bitter experiences at the hospital.
A social worker in Silchar Joydeep Chakraborty, known for helping people with medical treatment-related purposes, demanded that the government take prompt steps for the health facility’s overall infrastructure development.
Also, the SMCH authority must ensure cleaning is done from time to time daily so that visitors do not have to face problems because of unclean/unhygienic toilets, and floors, he said.
A medical representative in Silchar, who visits the hospital regularly, said the SMCH is in a bad condition, but the hospital authorities are not doing anything. Visitors often have to face unpleasant situations due to the hospital’s pitiable state, but, the hospital authorities seem not bothered to take steps so that people get a satisfactory environment on the hospital campus, the medical representative said.
A student at SMCH, who did not wish to be named, said the hospital is almost six decades old and it needs an overall infrastructure upgrade. About the gutkha and paan stains on the hospital’s walls, floors and stairs, the student blamed the hospital’s patients and their attendants alleging that a large number of patients and their attendants spit on walls and floors of the hospital. “The hospital authority cannot keep the hospital in good condition alone. Patients (and their attendants) need to care about the hospital and avoid spitting or throwing garbage carelessly inside the hospital,” the student said.
Complaints about treatment facilities at the hospital have also poured in from various quarters from time to time over the past many years.
A resident of Karimganj district’s Fakirabazar and a businessman by profession said recently, he took his father to the hospital around one year ago for treatment (related to age-related ailments) but his condition did not show any improvement for days. Later, he took his father to Guwahati and admitted him to a hospital where his condition improved. He is okay now, the resident said, claiming that various advanced facilities are not available at the hospital.
Notably, a 25-year-old youth from Silchar town Sayantan Chakraborty died due to the unavailability of an angioplasty facility at SMCH in October 2019.
Sayantan, who had suffered a heart attack, was taken to SMCH but he could not be treated because of the unavailability of an angioplasty facility.
‘Patients steal from the hospital‘
Contacted, the principal of SMCH Dr. Bhaskar Gupta told EastMojo that the hospital has cleaning staff in adequate numbers and the hospital is cleaned at regular intervals daily. However, during natural disasters or inclement weather conditions (when there is a crisis of water and electricity supply issues), cleaning cannot be done like normal days.
Asked about the broken roofs, and windows of the hospital, he said the state public works department is responsible for maintenance of the hospital. The SMCH authority is not responsible for doing maintenance work of the hospital, Dr. Gupta said.
He alleged that patients often steal water pipes and other property (when they are discharged from the hospital) and thus it gets very tough for the hospital authority to keep its property safe. He urged patients not to indulge in such evil activities so that the SMCH authority could keep the hospital in a proper condition.
He alleged that negative propaganda is being spread/disseminated to defame the SMCH so that patients hesitate to come to this hospital and prefer going to private hospitals. “At SMCH, we are committed to providing quality medical services to patients. We provide many services for free. Whatever charges are there, these are one-fourth of the charges compared to private hospitals. At SMCH, the charge for the intensive care unit (per bed) is Rs. 1000 per day whereas it is Rs. 10,000 in the case of private hospitals. In the past too, attempts have been made to present a bad impression of the hospital to the general public. You never know who is behind this negative propaganda,” Dr. Gupta said.
When asked about the number of vacant posts at the hospital, he said he was unaware of the exact numbers and could tell the same after checking the hospital records. He added that about 1500-2000 people visit the hospital every day and around 150 patients are admitted daily. In the last year, the SMCH has had about 50,000 admissions, he said.
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