We feel sick, we cringe, we are furious and we want to know who is responsible for the state of this waiting room – this is a very understated description of how patients who have to use the waiting room of the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Serbia (UKCS) feel while sometimes having to wait for hours to be seen by a doctor.
Uncomfortable plastic chairs, mould and mildew, creepy pictures on the walls – it all looks like a photo montage but unfortunately it is not. While the humidity eats away at the walls that are peeling in layers, sick people sit idly, inhaling unpleasant odours from the toilet, waiting for hours for the doctor to call their name and finally get away from a place that can cause numerous allergies.
With pipes stretching over their heads, along the entire corridor, patients get the impression that they are sitting in the sewers or in the basement of some giant factory. There is no trace of natural light, sun, flowers or indoor plants, to enrich the space and make it smell nice. There are only cobwebs, dampness and mould wherever you look.
„Because of the renovation of the Clinical Centre, which we fear will never be finished, this part of the Clinic looks like it came straight from a horror movie. We had to open a temporary clinic, while cardiologists moved to our previous clinic, while their ward is being renovated. We physically have nowhere else to work. The building that houses the clinic enjoys state protection and it was built by Queen Marija, so whatever improvements you want to do here, you have to get a lot of approvals and collect a lot of paperwork. No one wants to deal with that”, says an unnamed doctor at the clinic.
After Nova first reported about the Clinic’s dilapidated state back in July last year, the Clinic’s director, Dr Nebojša Lalić confirmed that the Clinic would be renovated. However, nothing has been done about it in the meantime.
(Nova.rs, 03.02.2023)
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