Tirupati: Ruia Hospital staff decry poor security on hospital premises

Tirupati: Lack of proper security in Ruia Hospital has become a major problem for hospital authorities on one side and patients and their attendants on the other. The hospital was established in more than 100 acres and it has grown horizontally with various blocks are located at distant places to one another. The hospital will have 1,500-1,800 outpatients daily and about 1,000 inpatients. The number of patient attendants also will be more than 1,000 at any given time. While the police outpost in the hospital premises being run with only three police sleuths, the hospital has been utilising the services of an outsourcing agency to provide security personnel.

During morning time, 42 security personnel have been on duty while in the afternoon and night, 26 each will have to look after the entire security of this big hospital. Apart from patients and their attendants, junior doctors, doctors, nursing staff and others were having no security and they are afraid of going from one place to another especially during nights.

Taking this poor security system as an advantage, miscreants have developed the premises as their favourite hub and resorting to several anti-social activities. There was no system in the entire hospital to find out who are visiting the hospital and for what purpose. The incidents of mugging were quite common in the hospital and patients' attendants have been complaining to authorities of many such incidents.

As there was no machinery to control, drunkards find the premises as perfect place for their sittings and quarrels. In October, a murder took place near Children's hospital following the heated argument between two drunkards. Since the new Superintendent Dr N V Ramanaiah took over the charge, he has been focussing on various pending issues in the hospital and striving hard to find solutions to them.

Taking a serious note on the security aspect, the hospital development committee working Chairman B Chandrasekhar, CS RMO Dr S Saraswathi Devi and RMO Dr U Srihari have met Urban SP Gajarao Bhupal recently and appraised him of the prevailing situation in the hospital.

They requested the SP to strengthen the police outpost and conduct police patrolling on the premises at least thrice during 8 pm to 1 am. They also asked for controlling traffic before hospital main gate as town buses and auto-rickshaw drivers have been stopping their vehicles in front of their gate finding it difficult even for 108 vehicle to pass through it.