Video circulating online shows lack of bed facility for patients at GH

Legislator Vignesh Kannan inspecting the wards in the Government General Hospital in Puducherry. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Legislator Vignesh Kannan inspecting the wards in the Government General Hospital in Puducherry. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT A video showing several patients sleeping on the floors of the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital has come out in the public domain, bringing to the fore the urgent need to address the growing infrastructure requirements of one of the oldest healthcare facilities in Puducherry.Hundreds of patients, even from neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu, throng the hospital every day for advance treatment because of the expert doctors available at the GH. However, commensurate to the growth in number of patients visiting the hospital, there has been no major steps to scale up the infrastructure, especially for those requiring in-patient treatment despite deficiencies being pointed out to the authorities on several occasions.The video now released by DMK legislator Vignesh Kannan, who represents the Raj Bhavan constituency where the GH is located, showed several patients sleeping on the floor, some of them even close to toilets, with IV cannula fixed on their hand. Many of the patients seen in the video footage are senior citizens.In the video, a doctor could be heard saying that the issue of shortage of beds would be addressed soon. Mr. Vignesh told The Hindu that he had gone to the Government Hospital on Wednesday night to visit a person from his constituency who was admitted in the emergency ward. During the visit, he said the attendants of other patients began complaining about lack of facilities which prompted him to inspect other wards in the hospital.“I first saw people sleeping near the emergency ward, but when I went to other wards I found the situation was no different. Old patients were sleeping near the toilet. Poor people are compelled to tolerate this kind of ill-treatment,” he said. He said the patients who had been allotted beds did not have mattress or pillow. Some patients even complained about lack of response from doctors and nurses for timely treatment, the MLA said. Mr. Vignesh further said if the government failed to address the issues, he would organise an agitation in the next few days. When contacted, a senior Health Department official told The Hindu that floor beds were provided only at the emergency ward due to the cramped atmosphere there. “The hospital which was constructed years ago was meant to cater to a small population from Puducherry. Besides the growth in our population, we started getting more patients from villages in Tamil Nadu. Nowadays, 60% of the patients coming to our hospital are from Tamil Nadu. We can’t deny treatment to anyone and all patients are given equal treatment and quality care,” the official said.There are constraints for taking up construction activity further at the GH owing to its location. The government was working on an expansion plan after consulting experts. Meanwhile, the work for establishing a 50-bedded critical care hospital at Kirumampakkam has already started. Once the project is completed, patients from villages need not come to GH for primary and secondary care, he said. Published - October 29, 2026 10:03 pm IST