‘Poor sanitation’ at SCB: HC asks health secy to appear on Thu

Cuttack: Orissa high court has directed secretary of health and family welfare department, Aswathy S, to appear before it on Sept 26 in connection with a plea regarding inadequate sanitation at SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack. The special bench formed for hearing suo motu PILs on civic issues in Cuttack city issued the order following a report submitted by the advocates’ committee, led by president of the High Court Bar Association (HCBA), Bijay Dash. The court had instructed the committee on Sept 5 to inspect the post-mortem room and other wards of the hospital and provide a report on its cleanliness and hygiene. The committee’s report identified various issues and proposed several remedial measures, including extending the shed for conducting inquests, providing better lighting, installing a separate water connection in the autopsy room, and raising the floor level of the morgue house to prevent waterlogging.The bench of Justices S K Sahoo and V Narasingh said, “A copy of the report has been handed over to counsel for the state, who in turn, shall hand over a copy to the superintendent of SCBMCH and a copy is to be sent to the health secretary, govt of Odisha to enable them to appear through physical/virtual mode on the next date (Sept 26).”The report also recommended clean drinking water, regular cleaning of overhead tanks, de-silting and widening of internal drains, repairing internal roads, installing proper lighting along the roads and adding another incinerator to manage bio-medical waste. It also suggested repairing or installing doors, ceilings and electrical fittings in wards, cabins and ICUs, renovating the new medicine block, among others.We also published the following articles recently