Agra: Cancer patients have been forced to share beds at the radiotherapy department of SN Medical College here because of lack of beds. While patients and attendants said the situation was causing them numerous problems, officials said the issue would be resolved once adequate funds were received.Ramesh Kumar, a relative of a patient at the department said that attendants were often involved in arguments over sharing of bed by patients. “I am here to see my brother-in-law and was surprised when I saw patients sharing beds. This is a ward where critically ill patients are being treated, and you can imagine what patients have to go through if they have to share beds,” he added.Several patients said it was not possible to rest properly if beds were being shared. “If a patient has to rest, another has to sit. If both want to lie down, they have to adjust. When we tell the staff that the patients are unable to manage sharing a bed, the staff are rude or they just ignore us,” said an attendant.Dr Shailendra Chaudhary at the office of the principal said that the problem had arisen because of scarcity of funds. “Around Rs 4 crore had been sanctioned for renovation of the old seurgery building. We have received only Rs 1.5 crore, and this has been spent on renovation. After that we have not received any money, and no work has happened for the past year. We have written to health department officials in Lucknow but have not received any response so far.” College principal Dr Saroj Singh was not available for comment.Dr AK Arya, head of the radiotherapy department said, “I am not aware of this situation. I have not received any complaints about this either from patients or staff. Attendants should have contacted me if patients are being made to share beds. I am against such things, and would have provided a solution to them.”“There is also a scarcity of beds. Currently, the department has 26 beds, while 30 have been sanctioned,” Arya added.Superintendent at SN Medical College, Dr Ajay Agrawal said, “Around 60 beds will be provided to the radiotherapy department, and this will solve the problem.”

Stay updated with all the Agra Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.