Thiruvananthapuram: Patients visiting the District General Hospital are being forced to spend long hours in queues to make payments, as the limited number of cash counters remains grossly inadequate to handle the heavy rush.
At present, only two counters are available for payments related to various services, including lab tests, X-rays and ECGs. Long queues form throughout the day, with many patients waiting for hours, often standing in the open, exposed to rain or harsh sunlight.

Though separate counters have been designated for men and women, on most days only one counter functions, forcing people from both queues to crowd before a single payment window.

Patients complain that by the time they complete the payment and undergo the necessary tests, doctors’ consulting hours are often over. While ordinary patients wait for hours, relatives and acquaintances of hospital staff or police personnel reportedly bypass the queue and make payments quickly. Despite the steady rush, the hospital continues to operate just one counter round the clock.

Adding to the distress, there is no roofed waiting area for those in line, leaving patients to stand under the scorching sun or in the rain. With only two counters catering to hundreds of people daily and just one functioning all day, public frustration continues to mount.

Observers point out that the issue could be easily resolved if payment counters were opened at individual testing centres or if a token system was introduced to streamline the process. Both the Hospital Development Committee and the Health Department can take a call on this.

Hospital authorities, however, maintain that adequate staff are deployed during peak hours, from morning till 1 p.m., and that efforts are being made to manage the situation.

Until additional counters are opened or a proper system is introduced, patients have little choice but to wait for hours in long queues — rain or shine. Relief is expected only after the completion of new hospital buildings proposed under the hospital’s master plan.