Chennai: The Tiruvallur government hospital has the ambience of a warehouse with construction material dumped randomly and dust occupying every nook and cranny.
Locals say that new infrastructure developments inside the hospital needed to be completed at a war-footing. “Over a period of time the hospital’s atmosphere has deteriorated, the floors are not even properly mopped. The construction work is dragging and the hospital’s huge area is not properly utilised,” remarked A. Shanthi, a homemaker.
Adding to the mess was the fact that the attendants of the patients eat right inside the in-patient ward. “We have told them numerous times not to do this, but the people do not heed our caution. The hospital needs a lot of security personnel to maintain order,” said a paramedical staff.
Lack of adequate sign boards and poor reception offers a cold welcome to the anxious visitors. “There is no sign board to guide new patients who visit the hospital. They are forced to run from pillar to post to understand the hang of things as there is no reception in the hospital,” said D. Dhanushkodi, a local.
Add to this stray dog menace and the condition of the vulnerable patients can well be imagined. “The main problem is there is no proper canteen for people to sit and eat. So, they sit and eat wherever they want. I think if there is a low-cost eatery or canteen, a lot of people won’t eat inside the wards,” explained another paramedic.
The stench near the paediatrics ward is another irritant to patients who frequent the hospital. “Right next to the paediatrics department, where children are treated, there are open sewage lines – they are ideal pools for vectors. The least the hospital management can do is close the sewage lines to control the unbearable stench,” said S. Arul, the who had come as an attendant of a patient.
A hospital official told DC that “The stench is not due to the open sewage but due to leakage. We are looking into the problem to rectify it. To improve the sanitation in the hospital, we are looking to employ workers sourced from the Tamil Nadu health system projects.”
