Clean hospital should be two-way effort, says Government Hospital Dean

Stating that maintenance of the toilets at the hospital was very poor, she said, “It reminded me of the public toilets we find on roadsides or bus depots. Not only was there any water in the toilet, but the lack of any cleaning staff was shocking. The stench was unbearable, and we were using it as we did not have much of an option.”

While poor maintenance was found to be an issue by patients and attenders coming to RGGGH, Dean Dr Narayana Babu said, “Water is not a problem in our hospital as we get 15 lakh litres from Metro Water alone and we have eight borewells of our own.”

Stating that the cleaning work is maintained by staff from an agency, he said, “During OP hours, it tends to get a little difficult due to the large footfall we see on a regular basis. While the workers do their routine work, awareness among the public on the need to use sufficient water or flush the toilet after using it is essential. It must be a twoway effort.”

During a survey done recently by members of Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO, they found that toilets were very poorly maintained at the hospitals. From finding alcohol bottles thrown into the public toilets to identifying the lack of water and buckets in the common toilets, the audit found a number of faults in the hospitals. 

“We again conducted a surprise check on Wednesday and saw that though the drinking water facilities had improved at RGGGH, the toilets remained dirty. Royapettah GH, which has an RO water facility, is surprisingly open only till 4 pm. Do people not drink water post 4 pm,” asked Prashanth Gautam of the NGO. 

Stating that the NGO’s inspection served to be helpful, a health official said, “All government hospitals have been instructed to ensure that toilets and hospital premises are well maintained. They have also been urged to ensure that water is available at all times.