Tribune stories

Hospital or garbage dump?
Shariq Majeed
Tribune News Service

Rajouri, January 5
Mismanagement rules the roost at the District Hospital here and patients seem to be facing a hard time due to the prevailing unhygienic conditions at the hospital.

Patients seem to have forgotten about their treatment and the only thing they fear is that they might contract some infectious disease, which could be more lethal, than the disease they are being treated for.

The hospital gives a look of a garbage dump with heaps of garbage and filth lying in the hospital premises. The inner wards, too, don't seem to be fit for housing patients. There are cracks in the floor and on the roof from where water oozes out, posing a great health hazard for patients.

Patients admitted in the hospital complain that not only are the wards in the worst of condition but the toilets, too, are a breeding ground for new diseases.

“The hospital administration doesn't seem to be interested in maintaining cleanliness in the hospital and are playing with the lives of patients. The wards are unhygienic and the condition of toilets is worse. One cannot stand the stench coming from these toilets,” said Shabir Ahmed, a patient, admitted in the general ward.

“Forget about treatment, one can catch some infectious disease at the hospital,” he rues.

Chief medical officer Dr T.R. Gupta admitted that a few wards were not hygienic, but added that the problem was only minor.

“There can be unhygienic conditions in some of the wards. This is because of the cracks in the floor and the roof,” Dr Gupta said. “We have sought funds for the renovation of buildings,” he added.