GUNTUR: Even as chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed concern over the dwindling standards of upkeep of hospitals at the collectors’ conference in Vijayawada on Saturday, another incident of rodent attack was reported at the Government General Hospital in Guntur on Saturday.
This time, it was an old woman undergoing treatment in the orthopaedic ward of the hospital. Yesamma from Durgi village had suffered a fracture after slipping on the floor and was admitted to the GGH for treatment, a couple of days ago. On Saturday morning, a rat had bitten her finger. After she complained of it to the hospital authorities, she was given treatment and kept under observation.
Meanwhile, on Friday, a snake was caught in the rat trap indicating that the situation at the hospital is yet to improve. After the death of an infant in the rodent attack at the hospital attracted the attention of the government and remedial measures were ordered, the latest incident showed that not much had been done to improve the sanitation situation and plug infrastructural loopholes at the hospital, which is the referral hospital to three districts in the region.
Admitting that there has been no improvement in the situation, a doctor at the hospital, on condition of anonymity, said that the present efforts like catching rats by arranging traps to tackle the rodents were not enough to end the menace and a lot needed to be done in that direction. Apart from complete restoration of the existing drainage system of the hospital, steps were also needed to restrict the entry of patients’ attendants.
“We see that about half a dozen attendants are coming with a patient. They are completing all their daily activities like bathing and dining, and dumping the litter on the hospital premises itself, which is attracting the rodents,” he told Express. Proximity of the hospital to the railway station was only making matters worse. The rodents in the railway station find their way into the hospital, he added.
Another doctor on duty stated that any measure could only solve the problem to an extent, as the source of the problem was widespread in the area. Unauthorised roadside eateries and shops were adding to the sanitation woes and rodent menace, he pointed out.
When contacted, Dr. Mandava Srinivasa Rao, who was appointed public relations officer of GGH on Saturday, maintained that they were making every effort to tackle rodent menace at the hospital.