I RECENTLY had to visit Civil Hospital Hyderabad when my father-in-law suffered severe burns at home. Upon reaching the burns ward, I was met not by profession-alism, but by indifference. The staff treated me like an uninformed visitor rather than an attendant of a patient in critical condition. Their delaying tactics, careless attitude, and lack of empathy were painfully visible.

However, the moment I called a bureau-crat friend, who, in turn, contacted the hospital’s medical superintendent, the entire scene transformed. Within minutes, the same staff who had been ignoring my father-in-law’s serious condition began treating me and the patient with almost royal courtesy. This sudden shift in attitude revealed an uncomfortable truth: dignity and prompt service in public hospitals are reserved exclusively for those having powerful connections.

This experience exposed the harsh reality faced daily by thousands of people who have no access to influential contacts. The common man walks into the same hospital with the same hope for treatment, but instead finds dilapidated and filthy buildings, showing years of neglect.

Washrooms are unfit for human use, creating further misery for attendants and patients. Untrained, insensitive and unprofessional medical staff’s behaviour adds to the suffering.

There is a complete absence of facilities for the very people these hospitals are supposed to serve. Such conditions do not represent isolated flaws; they indicate a systemic failure. When public hospitals, meant to serve the poorest, become places where only influence guarantees dignity, it reflects the collapse of governance, accountability and humanity. This is not merely mismanagement; it is an injustice.

Prof Imran Khan Bughio
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2026