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Photos: Outside AIIMS, in the cold, homeless patients await treatment
Updated On Jan 25, 2018 10:42 am IST
With thousands seeking treatment at AIIMS in New Delhi every day, a large number of outstation patients find themselves spending more nights on the streets instead of inside the hospital.
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The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi sees a daily influx of outstation patients and their relatives. Those making arduous journeys from far flung places to the capital are drawn by its medical repute and comparative economic viability. This throng of patients brings with it the problem of accommodation and forces many to stay on the pavements because they cannot afford rooms inside the hospital. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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Rajbir, 60, a resident of Balabgarh, was scheduled for an operation but the date was postponed by doctors last minute, leaving him no choice but to wait out his date on the pavement. Several patients and their relatives face similar circumstances, biding time outside the hospital, having parked resources away for medical procedures or reaching the hospital itself –only to be delayed in their treatment. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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The hospital sees about 7,000 patients in its out-patient department every day, with at least 30% of them from neighbouring states. “We do not have enough space to accommodate everyone on the hospital premises,” said a doctor from the hospital, adding that the patients can stay in Delhi government-run night shelters. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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Although existing shelters for the homeless in Delhi offer amenities such as washrooms, beds with linen and breakfast, those spending their nights in the open risk loss of personal belongings, often including medical reports, money and other personal possessions. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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Sahedan, 40, has been living on the roadside pavements outside AIIMS hospital for the past two months. Unable to afford the rent of the hospital’s rooms, she took to sleeping on the roadside for the duration of her treatment. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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Ramwati suffers from cancer. Along with her young daughter, she travelled from Agra last month to seek treatment. They have been sleeping on the pavement since. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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A patient uses a walker on the road outside AIIMS. The population of outstation patients who have no place to stay in order to seek treatment at the premier hospital, is growing by the day. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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An outside view of single-tent night shelter along the pavement near the AIIMS metro station. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Photo)
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