Hospitals are not parks

On 5th of September, I had an unprecedented experience on my visit to Government Lalla Ded Hospital (LD), an associate hospital of Government Medical College, Srinagar. Upon the entry to an emergency block along with my family members, I was stopped by on-duty personnel, who asked me for an entry slip. Being my first visit, I was unaware of this new system, where the relatives of hospitalized patients are required to obtain a ‘Visitor’s Pass’ for accessing entry into the hospital premises.

“Counter se phle pass lawo,” one of the personnel directed me while pointing his finger towards the pass counter. However, I obtained the entry pass, each costing ₹5, and we were allowed to visit the maternity ward, where a relative of mine was being treated.

The Government Lalla Ded Hospital is one among the associate hospitals of GMC Srinagar, with a speciality in maternity care, along with surgeries, OPD services, and other related operations. Numerous maternity and labor cases from different parts of the Kashmir division are treated here. However, currently, the question is not about the quality of medical care but about the basis of the “Visitors’ Entry Pass.” A person whose relative or friend is hospitalized must pay ₹5 to inquire about the patient’s health – without this pass, they are not allowed to enter the premises.

Meanwhile, it raises a question concerning whether a relative or a friend of a patient is visiting a park or a hospital. While entering the hospital building, we have to prove our payment by showing our pass inscribed as ‘Visitor’s Pass.’ Many people think of the collection as maintenance funds for the hospital or a step to prevent crowds and rush inside the premises.

Firstly, we must understand the fact that a government institute has different means to receive abundant funds, whether for the operation of uninterrupted services or for maintenance. Sometimes, these institutes receive grant aid from the central government. For instance, the budget of J&K allocates ₹8,814 crores to Health and Family Welfare for the session 2025–26, which is the third-highest allocation among all sectors. Secondly, the fact is that no one enters a hospital for enjoyment or to interrupt hospital operations, except for some miscreants. Perhaps, for that reason, it becomes mandatory for genuine visitors to obtain a pass by paying ₹5.

However, the official website was found to have no order or notice uploaded in the public interest to justify the basis of the mandatory Visitors’ Entry Pass. Besides this, those who perhaps create disturbances in the hospital by roaming or crowding the premises can also gain entry by simply paying the fee, and then continue to interrupt services as before. In that case, how is such a system justified, and does it prove effective for the cause to abstain a miscreant?

Should Hospitals Charge Visitors for Entry?

From a judicial and fundamental rights perspective, the imposition of such a fee is debatable. Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the ‘Right to Life,’ and several judicial verdicts have interpreted it to mean that essential medical services cannot be refused due to the lack of documentation, identity proof, or financial barriers. Moreover, hospitals are spaces of anxiety, urgency, and distress, and relatives already concerned about the patient’s health are further burdened when stopped at the gate to pay a fee or show a visitor’s pass. In that moment, an uncertain stimulus with vague justifications surrounds the mind – making one wonder whether they are outside an emergency block or a park.

The concern is not about the amount of the fee but about its collection outside an emergency block, which restricts anxious relatives from accessing the condition of the patient – who, at that moment, is far more important to them than obtaining a visitor’s pass. Moreover, even if authorities allow only one attendant with the patient, that lone attendant often requires support and help from other family members and close ones.

Now the question remains for the authorities: should medical institutes continue to collect ₹5 from each visitor, or should they restore their focus on what truly matters?

Ayaan Saroori is a freelance writer and columnist.