Condition of government hospitals in Chennai has improved over the years

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has consistently been one of the best performing states in the country when it comes to health. While the cleanliness and the maintenance of some government hospitals in Chennai have earned recognition for its functioning, some are still lagging behind.

In 2012, a government hospital in Chennai made headlines when the face of a dead child was found disfigured allegedly due to rat bites. It lead to a crackdown on government hospitals in the city with clean-up drives and surprise inspections being launched.

At the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, the premises is largely clean with garbage bins placed every few metres. As families of patients waited for news of their loved ones, hospital staff went about sweeping and picking up litter left behind.

Inside one of the wards, nurses use gloves and don masks while attending to patients. Overall, the hospital is sanitised and well-maintained with floors mopped clean and walls free from grime.

Junior doctors at the hospital were also largely satisfied with the facilities available.

At the Govt hospital for women and children, one of the oldest and biggest institutions for obstetrics and gynaecology in south east asia with 18,000 deliveries being conducted every year, scores of families are sitting and waiting for health updates. Despite attempting to impose strict visiting hours…hospital officials are unable to control crowds. some visitors were even eating lunch on the ground.

The hospital had some uninvited guests as well. A stray dog was looking for scraps left behind. Garbage however is routinely collected and disposed off…with both the premises and the hospital appearing clean and tidy.

Despite drawing a large number of patients and visitors every day…the two government hospitals were largely clean and well-maintained. And perhaps the reason for this is that the Tamil Nadu government has outsourced sanitation and maintenance to private contractors and have issued strict warning that any negligence on their part will not be tolerated.