Swati Maliwal inspects Delhi's IHBAS Hospital, shares 'grim realities' of AAP's healthcare claims

New Delhi, Dec 29
Rubbishing the AAP government's claims of world-class healthcare facilities in the national capital, Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Sunday said the rosy picture presented by the authorities was in stark contrast with the grim realities.

Maliwal, who carried out a surprise inspection of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) hospital in Delhi, said she witnessed the "grim realities" of non-availability of medicines and drinking water and unhygienic washrooms, among others.

In a post on social media platform X, she said: "Did a surprise inspection of Delhi's IHBAS hospital. People sleep on the road outside the hospital in the cold for hours to get medicines. The counter opens in the morning, and the crowd somehow manages to get inside but the medicines are not available."

Maliwal said that elderly men and women, aged 70 to 80 years, were braving biting cold conditions while waiting for essential medicines.

Despite arriving early in the morning, patients often face unavailability of medicines, further exacerbating their struggles, she added.

"Outside this hospital, I found 70-80-year-old men and women shivering in the cold. Is this the respect for the elderly and women? Neither the toilets are clean, nor do they get drinking water. Everything looks good in social media reels and press conferences… there is neither the intention nor the courage to see the reality," she added.

She posted a video interacting with people who complained about receiving their medications late or having them unavailable at times. This winter, many patients have spent the entire night waiting on the street.

"A patient said that they (hospital authorities) give excuses about the machines not working and ask us to wait. We're just sitting here on the road," she said.

Some patients have been waiting there for the last 12 hours, she said.

According to Maliwal, the toilets were unhygienic, and access to clean drinking water was non-existent.

These issues, she argued, reflect a stark contrast to the rosy picture often presented in official statements and social media posts by authorities.

The IHBAS, formerly known as the Hospital for Mental Diseases, Shahdara, is a mental health and neurosciences research institute.