Garbage, stink at Chittoor govt. hospital upset Collector

Pradyumna seeks report on hospital administration within an hour

Surprise check: Collector P.S. Pradyumna going round the Government General Hospital in Chittoor on Thursday.

Unable to bear the stench emanating from the piled up garbage and the stinking wards and toilets of the District Headquarters Government General Hospital (GGH) here, Collector P.S. Pradyumna, on a surprise visit on Thursday, took the officials to task and sought a report on the hospital administration within an hour.

Based on public complaints about unhygienic conditions at the hospital leading to breeding of mosquitoes, snakes and street dogs, the Collector arrived at the hospital for surprise checks. Patients poured out their woes to the official, alleging that they were unable to tolerate the mosquito menace at night, stinking toilets and unsafe drinking water.

At the casualty ward, out-patient blocks and the in-patient wards, the Collector found heaps of garbage coupled with disposed syringes, at every corner, spilling out of dustbins. The patients deplored that the hospital staff were not changing the bedsheets periodically. The District Coordinator of Health Services, P. Sarala, informed the Collector that 45 health workers on contract had been working in the hospital till June this year. From July 1, their services were suspended by the Apollo hospital, which took over the government hospital under clinical arrangement.

Less staff

During the last two-and-a-half months, only five sanitary workers were deployed to manage the entire hospital. In spite of her repeated requests with the Apollo officials to address the unhygienic conditions in the hospital, there was no response from them, she said.

The Collector spoke to the Apollo personnel and asked them to furnish the details about the MoU with the government hospital under clinical arrangement.

He was so upset with the surroundings that he directed that a report about the hospital administration be submitted to him ‘within an hour’, making the staff run for files. Some patients also brought to the notice of the official that it was at the in-patient wards of the hospital that a dozen cobras were killed last year.

The Collector directed the DCHS to make temporary arrangements for garbage clearance and utilise the services of the earlier health workers.