Civil Hospital, You’re Disgustingly Filthy

Every year same story: two resident docs down with dengue...BJ Medical College students arefurious with Civil Hospital authorities who keep proving year after year thatthey are incapable of maintaining hygiene on campus

Time and again, Civil Hospital authorities have been pulled up for not maintaining cleanliness on its premises, especially during monsoon. But it seems to make no difference. The hospital’s apathy towards providing a clean environment to its patients and doctors is evident from the most recent cases where two students of BJ Medical College Hostel were diagnosed with dengue. In the past, too, doctors at Civil have fallen victim to the aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the vector transmitting dengue.   

This year, one of the dengue patients is a resident doctor from the TB and Chest department while the other is a first year student at the dental college. They are being treated in the C7 ward. The students blame authorities for their slack attitude in ensuring basic hygiene around the hostel and the college where mosquito breeding can be seen.

According to sources, the two resident doctors were diagnosed with dengue about five days ago during a medical check-up.

Talking to Mirror, Dr Rajesh Solanki, the head of the TB and Chest department said, “A student from our department was detected with dengue about five days ago. He was immediately admitted to the C7 ward and is recovering well.”

Dr Girish Parmer, dean of dental college said, “Five days ago, a girl from first year under-graduate course was admitted to the hospital after being diagnosed with dengue. But she is stable now.”

A student, on condition of anonymity, said, “This is not the first time that the students have fallen victim to dengue. Every year, it is the same story. The Civil authorities are least bothered about the cleanliness on the hospital campus and near the hostel. We stay on campus and we are the ones who suffer.”

Every monsoon, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) publishes guidelines suggesting precautionary measures that need to be taken to ensure safety from dengue. “But the medical college authorities don’t follow it. We bear the brunt of their apathy. It is quite shameful,” said another student. Last year, around 100 students of BJ Medical were diagnosed of dengue, the resident doctors allege.

The students complained of authorities’ total disregard for their health. They said, “The water tanks are not cleaned regularly, raising the chances of water contamination. Tanks overflow and the water gets accumulated near the hostel. The drainage lines are never cleaned nor is the manhole covered. Then mosquitoes breed here.”

A walk around the medical college and the hostel premises proves the students’ allegations are true. The drainage lines opposite blocks B and C of the boys’ hostel lie open and are covered with algae, food leftovers and dirt. Water keeps dripping from the overhead tank, creating a pool where you find a thriving cluster of mosquito larvae.

The manhole behind the boys’ hostel lies uncovered, too. Even the water coolers at the hostel, which look like they have not been cleaned in ages, have become a breeding ground for fungus and mosquitoes.

A student of block C said, “We can’t keep the windows of our rooms open out of fear of mosquitoes that breed in the water and open gutters outside the hostel.”

The students claim that their repeated requests to the authorities to clean the campus have fallen on deaf ears. They said, “We have written several letters to the dean but he says that soon, we will be able to move into the new hostel building. Till then, we have been asked to put up with the situation. We have no choice but to suffer.”

However, college authorities have claimed that they are taking all required precautionary steps to ensure safety of the students. “We regularly sprinkle bleaching powder around the campus and near the hostel buildings. All the drains are cleaned regularly and so are the drinking water tanks,” said an officer from the BJ Medical College.  

BJ Medical College Dean Bharat Shah did not receive the calls made by this correspondent.