New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) Relatives taking care of patients at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) do not have to brave the chill any longer as the Border Security Force Wives Welfare Association (BSFWWA) has set up a temporary night shelter for them, a doctor said Tuesday.

“The night shelter has been functional since Monday night. The BSFWWA has provided mattresses, quilts, blankets, toilet facilities, and a TV is the latest addition for relatives staying at the shelter,” Amit Gupta, associate professor of surgery at the AIIMS J.P. Narayan apex trauma centre, told IANS.

“The shelter has been erected using six temporary tents used by BSF jawans (troopers) at their camps. The jawans will also be manning the shelter,” Gupta added.

The shelter, with a capacity of 60 people, saw nearly 40 people staying on the first night. The 180-bedded centre provides trauma care services to acutely injured patients besides other orthopaedic services.

“Earlier there was no option but to sleep near the front porch of the hospital as we could not think of staying in an expensive guest house or hotel. But now it’s much better for poor people like us,” said Dheeraj Kumar, who had come to the hospital with his ailing mother.

While the shelter has garnered words of praise from relatives of admitted patients, other hospitals such as the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital (RML) in central Delhi may also get night shelters on similar lines.

“The AIIMS night shelter has done really well with relatives of patients. In a day or two, we might just have a similar shelter run by BSF in RML hospital also,” a senior doctor from RML hospital said.