HYDERABAD: To curb the rodent menace in government hospitals, Director of Medical Education Dr Narendar Kumar on Sunday directed strict implementation of the Integrated Hospital Facility Management System (IHFMS) across all government hospitals and medical colleges.
In a statement, the DME said the government was committed to transforming state-run hospitals into safe and healthy ‘healing zones’. He said IHFMS was already in place for sanitation, safety and pest control, and was being further strengthened to improve cleanliness.
Responding to reports of rodents in some hospitals, Dr Narendar said that while staff were taking preventive steps, food consumption by patients’ attendants inside wards and improper disposal of leftovers were attracting rodents.
He said measures were being enforced on a war footing, including sealing cracks and holes with rodent-proof materials, zero-gap sealing in operation theatres, ICUs, CCUs and labour rooms, and installing wire-mesh barriers on windows, vents, drains and service ducts. Food consumption has been restricted to designated canteens, with a ban on eating inside wards.
The DME said a ‘closed-bin policy’ with frequent waste clearance was being implemented in all wards and ICUs, along with public awareness measures through multilingual signage and public address systems. Scheduled baiting and mechanical trapping are being carried out by licenced agencies under IHFMS.