A television monitor has been installed at the maternity hospital attached to the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Egmore. The television is linked to a camera in a room next to the labour ward allowing the patient’s families to view the newborn after birth. The initiative follows complaints from patient attendants that hospital employees demand money to provide information about the newborn. The Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital will also house a similar facility.
The maternity hospitals are also expected to put in place a register which will be signed by the patient’s family soon after the birth of the child. “The nurse will be entrusted with getting the signature of the family within 10 minutes of birth. Any delay in providing the details would get the concerned nurse in trouble,” said a senior hospital official.
On Thursday, several families at the government maternity hospital in Egmore complained that some employees continued to demand money for such information. According to them, some lower-level employees demand Rs. 200 if the child born is a boy. Attendants for patients say that ever since the health minister’s visit to the hospital a few days ago, the wards are swept and mopped every day.
While the hospital employees have been spurred to ensure cleanliness, the authorities are trying to find ways to improve maintenance. At the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, the tender for eliminating rats has been finalised. The contractor will be responsible for maintaining the campus free of rats for a year at a cost of Rs. 27,000.
The hospital has also decided to segregate patients who require investigative procedures such as X-ray and CT or MRI scan.
Currently these devices are installed in speciality wards and when outpatients are sent for investigation, family attendants also enter these areas causing crowding, thereby inconveniencing inpatients.
