At CMCH, wheelchairs & stretchers used to move trash, not patients

Patients in need of mobility aids forced to wait for at least 20 mins and give money to staff

- R KIRUBAKARAN @Coimbatore

The wheelchairs and stretchers, which ideally should be used in hospitals to shift patients or people with disabilities or others for whom walking is impossible, are purportedly being used for transporting goods and waste at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

Over the last two days (Monday and Tuesday), TNIE observed on around 30 occasions wherein the hospital staff were seen using wheelchairs and stretchers for non-medical purposes, primarily for transporting waste accumulated in wards.

As a result, patients not only have to wait for a long time for access to these mobility aids but it also takes a toll on the equipment's condition.