COIMBATORE: Patients at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) have raised concerns over poor sanitation in the inpatient wards, alleging that the wards are infested with bed bugs.
Two videos recorded by the public on Thursday night were widely shared on social media. In one video, bed bugs were seen crawling on patients' mattresses and on the tiled floor of an inpatient ward.
In the other video, stretchers carrying patients were seen queued for an ultrasound scan at midnight. People in the video alleged that they had been waiting for more than two hours as no staff was available at the lab.
An attendant in the video claimed they were moving from pillar to post for two hours as the available lab was found closed.
Responding to the issue, the hospital administration initiated a probe on Friday and announced measures to improve sanitation and maintain cleanliness.
Hospital authorities said that wards are sanitised frequently, but food waste spilled by the public encourages pests. They added that the bed bug menace is also found in cardiology and oncology wards, where regular sanitation is carried out once every four days. Measures to prevent rats from entering the wards are also taken periodically.
Dr Saravana Priya, Resident Medical Officer of CMCH said that littering of food waste along with food packages is the main reason for the sanitation issues.
"If we prevent littering inside the hospital, we can reduce 40% of waste accumulation. People dump the packages inside wards, which has become a problem. Officials also pointed out that the Valankulam lake bund located near the hospital is another source of trouble, as rats move towards the hospital attracted by food waste," she added
To address the issue, the hospital has decided to ban packaged food items inside wards. It has also decided to request the CCMC to instruct eateries outside CMCH not to issue food in parcels to people coming from the hospital, and instead serve food in their own reusable containers and utensils.
Meanwhile, security will be tightened to prevent people from carrying single-use packaged food items into the hospital premises, RMO added.