Lack Of Hot Water Leaves Yerwada Mental Hospital Patients Enduring Harsh Winter Conditions

Patients at the Regional Mental Hospital in Pune’s Yerwada are facing hardship in the biting cold due to the unavailability of hot water. Health activist Sharad Shetty claims that despite the government sanctioning ₹80 lakh to install solar panels, patients are made to suffer without hot water during peak winter.

Shetty told The Free Press Journal, “Authorities have yet to address the situation, leaving patients to endure harsh conditions without adequate amenities. The Maharashtra government sanctioned ₹80 lakh to install solar panels, but the patients are still left high and dry. The authorities are ignorant of the issues faced by these patients. They are already traumatised and not accepted by their family members, and if the hospital administration keeps ignoring their issues, where will they go? Some patients were sent to rehabilitation centres, and when they returned, they were in bad condition. Are the authorities not accountable?”

A senior official from the hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “It’s true that patients are facing hardships as the solar panels, which are the primary source of hot water, have not been installed, and some of the installed panels are also not working. Many patients are being sent to rehabilitation centres for treatment, but when they return, they are in dire condition. The files of these patients do not come to me, and nobody seeks a second opinion, so I can’t comment on the number of patients sent to these centres. Additionally, the hospital lacks hot water availability for the patients. We have 16 wards, but solar panels are installed in only three male wards and two female wards.”

Dr Sunil Patil, Medical Superintendent, Regional Mental Hospital, Yerwada, said, “There is nothing like this. Two of the solar panels were covered by the shade of a large tree, and we have requested permission from the Pune Municipal Corporation to prune the branches. Of the 16 wards in the hospital, 12 have an adequate supply of hot water. Only four wards are using water heaters for hot water. Our hospital is undergoing renovation, so the solar panels are also being shifted. The patients are being well cared for. Regarding the NGO Kinara (an old-age home), some of the mentally ill elderly patients were shifted there, and some developed diabetes and blood pressure issues, but they came back, and we are no longer sending patients there. There are four government-approved rehabilitation centres in Pune, as well as many private centres. We refer our patients there, and they do not return to us in deteriorating condition. These are all false allegations.”