Crowds Block Ambulances, Food Wastes Attract Rodents, Dogs to Hospital: Reports
HYDERABAD: The half-a-kilometre stretch of road Gandhi Hospital sees groups of mendicants, unemployed persons, destitutes and attendants of patients gather near the Gandhi statue in anticipation of food distribution. What began years ago as a charitable act has now become routine, with hundreds eating three meals a day on the roadside outside the state’s largest tertiary care hospital.
The gatherings are most visible in the afternoons and again after 7 pm. Large numbers of patient attendants also join the crowds, further compounding the problem.
Health officials warn the practice is creating serious hygiene and safety concerns. “Food waste thrown on the roads attracts dogs and rats, which easily enter the hospital premises,” a senior officer said, adding that this raised the risk of infections spreading among patients.
“Different groups have turned the Gandhi statue area into a shelter for mendicants and loiterers. It obstructs traffic and even ambulance movement,” the official noted. With no regular cleaning, some people even enter hospital premises to eat and dump waste inside.
Officials suggested that food distribution be organised at old-age homes or shelters for the destitute, without disrupting essential public services. Sources pointed out that since the area lies outside the hospital boundary, sanitation there does not fall under hospital jurisdiction.
Inside the premises, sanitation is managed by the Integrated Hospital Facility Management System (IHFMS), which deploys about 45 outsourced workers per 100 beds for cleanliness, security and pest control.
A senior official said the IHFMS policy will soon be revised, with tariffs increased for workers.
