Government hospital in Chromepet is no safe zone for patient care
CHENNAI: Stray dogs on the prowl in the paediatric wards, cartons stacked up inside the NICU that is meant to be sterile, uncleared garbage, and toilets that are broken and filthy – this is the state of the Chromepet government hospital, and it definitely is no safe place for children requiring medical care.
It was the stench of garbage that hit this journalist first, when he arrived at the hospital recently to admit his sick child, as piles of waste lie rotting near the wards where patients are being treated. Parents can be seen clutching their sick children tighter as stray dogs wander unchecked on the premises.
“We are already worried about our children’s health, now we are afraid of dogs inside the ward,” said a mother on condition of anonymity. In many wards, the garbage bins are overflowing in the same area where patients receive treatment. With no chairs, many visitors share the floor with stray dogs.
Nearby, the Neonatal ICU has been reduced to a storage dump, filled with boxes and unused materials covered with dust.
TNIE found many toilets lacking doors, reeking of excrement, and stagnant water. “Sometimes there’s no water, and the toilets are not cleaned every day,” said Murugesan, a 49-year-old attendant, adding that sometimes the flush doesn’t work. The area around the drinking water taps are not cleaned and people are afraid to drink the water. “We bring our own water. This is not safe,” said a woman from Tambaram.
Behind the building lies heaps of uncleared garbage, broken drainage covered haphazardly with wooden planks, while roots of trees claw through the cracks in the building.
Yet, patients return, not by choice. For the patients who come here from Pallavaram, Tambaram, and even Chengalpattu, it is their only option for free or affordable treatment. And the doctors are doing their best, they add.
“My son is getting good treatment from the doctors, but the facility is in a very bad condition,” said a mother of an 8-year-old boy. “My family members go to nearby hotels just to use the washroom.”
The hospital officials said all the departments in the old building will be shifted to the newly constructed building soon. Since the building is decades old, maintenance has been a challenge with minimal human resources.