Hyderabad: Abysmal condition of sanitation in government hospitals is a perennial concern for authorities. On Tuesday, principal secretary Rajeshwar Tiwari took superintendents of all government hospitals to task for not maintaining proper sanitation in their premises.
A review meeting held with the superintendents of teaching hospitals, area hospitals and district hospitals brought to focus the frequent complaints patients made about poor sanitation and filth in government hospitals, which officials were told, was a major reason for them not opting for treatment there.
The government spends Rs 4.5 crore every month on maintaining sanitation in all the government hospitals. But conditions of KCR kits in maternal hospitals for instance — which normally record high footfalls -- complaints abound about dirty and neglected toilets and washrooms.
A senior doctor said on condition of anonymity, “The contractor appointed by the government is not carrying out the tasks up to the mark. Teaching hospitals for example receive a large volume of patients and relatives and cleaning is required every one hour. But the premises are cleaned only in the morning hours from 6 am to 12 noon. Thereafter, worker-strength reduces by at least half.”
In a surprise visit recently, Mr Tiwari found that there were hardly any sanitation workers in Gandhi Hospital when he went round the hospital in the evening. The principal secretary had made the surprise visit to assess the situation directly at the hospital level following frequent complaints.
