22 January 2004	Thursday	29 Ziqa'ad 1424

PESHAWAR, Jan 21: The treatment meted out to patients admitted to the Government Mental Hospital has added to their problems, a visit to the hospital revealed.

They are kept in prison-like cells in unhygienic condition and provided food in dirty plates, which can cause them other ailments. During the surprise visit to the hospital, MPA Nasreen Khattak, along with a group of journalists, found out that the patients were without proper medical facilities and accommodated in dark, cold and unhygienic tiny rooms.

A women, Parvar, 36, suffering from schizophrenia, kept in chains, was eating her food when the team visited the female ward. "We have kept her in chains because when she has fits, we can't control her," the nurse on duty told Dawn.

Three other women patients in the same room were being served lunch from a bucket in dirty plates. After they had meals and put the plates aside, cats moving freely in the ward ate the leftovers and licked the utensils.

The women ward, comprising two rooms, accommodated four patients. The Government Mental Hospital, located adjacent to the central jail, gives a pathetic picture even from outside. The building is old and the rooms are smelly, dingy and without proper light.

Though the hospital store was full of new bedcovers, pillows and blankets, the patients are obliged to use dirty beds without proper blankets and bedsheets.

"Patients dirty blankets, therefore we don't change them frequently," the nurse, trying to justify the storage of the new blankets donated to the hospital, said.

There were only two female nurses at the ward. Male and a female doctor have been appointed for the outpatient department (OPD) of the hospital. The medical officer told the team that about 100 men and five women suffering from various kinds of mental disorders were present in the hospital. Non-availability of doctors in the evening shift cause additional problems to the patients in case of acute emergency, he said.

The outpatient department doctors are supposed to remain present till 2pm daily, but there was no doctor at 1pm, the time of visit. "If a patient has fits, the staff handles him/her," the doctor said.

The doctor said there was only one women sweeper for the female ward and "today she is on leave that is why the rooms are smelly and bathrooms are stinking," the nurse said.

The hospital kitchen was also in unhygienic condition. There were five cooks who used the only cupboard for storing leftovers, their shoes and other daily-use items.