HYDERABAD: The various wards at the Osmania General Hospital are so filthy that patients and the staff have to cover the nose with a mask. The surgical waste and food articles littered in the corridors do not allow one to stand even for a minute.
But many patients are left with no option but to wait and sleep on the floor amid the filth due to inadequate number of beds in the wards. The workers sprinkle bleaching powder on the floors. “They haven’t cleaned the floors for the past four days,” a patient complained to Express.
A private agency Gouri Mahila Mandali, responsible for sanitation maintenance in the hospital, charges around `11 lakh per month, said an official in the hospital. However, the authorities defend the private agency and deny negligence. Instead, they blame the patients and visitors for the pathetic conditions in the hospital.
Dr. Anjaiah, Resident Medical Officer, Osmania General Officer, said, “Despite clear guidelines, patients still throw garbage everywhere. There is no use cleaning the floors if they continue to do so. We can’t keep special staff only to monitor them.” Funds are not an issue for the hospital.
Conditions at another major government hospital in the city, the Gandhi Hospital, are also not any different. Almost all the toilets at the emergency section and the outpatient department are out of use. Some have no water connection while some others leak. A private agency which looks after the sanitation hasn’t not sent workers for the last one week for cleaning, said a doctor, on condition of anonymity.
Adding to this, patients in both the hospitals have to buy drinking water from nearby shops, as the water supplied inside is either unfiltered or filthy.
Both the hospitals get around 3,000 patients everyday.