Rats, cockroaches invade wards at Kalaignar Super-Speciality Hospital

Chennai: Rats dart through corridors and cockroaches crawl near beds while patients undergo treatments. This is the situation at the ₹380 crore 1,000-bed Kalaignar Centenary Super-Speciality Hospital at Guindy, which was opened in 2023.

“We see the pests near patients’ beds in the wards, and sometimes even in their food. Though the hospital staff clean the wards on alternate days, they fail to maintain the toilets and clear the garbage, which has become the main reason for the pest infestation,” said an attender whose father has been admitted to the general male ward for liver patients.

The situation is particularly alarming given the vulnerability of patients with compromised immunity and chronic illnesses. Patients say that wards and toilets are not cleaned regularly and that complaints to hospital authorities have elicited only a sluggish response.

“Six months ago, when my father was first admitted, the staff ensured that the toilets and wards were kept clean. We did not face any pest-related issues then. But now, when we ask about the rats and cockroaches, the staff don’t seem to care. They say that every govt hospital is the same and that nothing can be changed. We don’t understand what changed,” the attender added.

As attendants often eat and sleep on the ward floors, they are concerned about their own health too.

The hospital also lacks basic facilities such as water supply. The flush doesn’t work in several toilets, while water spray guns are broken. As the toilets are not cleaned properly, the entire ward smells foul. Drinking water too is not easily available, said patients.

Officials at Kalaignar Centenary Super-Speciality Hospital were unavailable for comment despite multiple attempts to reach them.