Two patients bitten by rodents

Despite all precautionary measures in Shatabdi hospital, rats enter the wards

In a telling example of poor administration of civic-run hospitals, a diabetic patient at Shatabdi Hospital, Kandivali, was bitten by rodents. This incident left him bloodied, which made the facility’s administrators seek immediate help from pest control department to counter the menace.

The rat menace in BMCrun hospitals has surfaced once again with two cases being reported from Kandivali’s Shatabdi Hospital within ten days. Earlier, in 2016, two cases were reported in Nair hospital, one of them again being a diabetic.

On Sunday evening, 65year-old Shilaben Shah was admitted in Shatabdi hospital after she sustained a leg fracture. She was bitten by a rat on her left leg, while she was fast asleep. “Due to diabetes, she could not feel the pain. We noticed only when blood started flowing out from the toe of the right leg and saw that rats had nibbled several parts of her left leg,” said relatives of Shilaben. The BMC workers have anti-rat guards to catch rodents. But, still, the menace persists. This is not the first case. Ten days prior to Sunday’s incident, Pramila Nerurkar, an elderly woman, had sustained injuries near her left eye on September 29.

The hospital administration, however, claimed that necessary measures had been taken to rein in the pests. They have also installed metal nets but in the rainy season their number multiplies. “We have taken cognisance of the incident. I was informed that rats had injured a patient. We conducted an inquiry and have taken precautionary measures to control the menace,” said Dr Jayant Chavan, Medical superintendent of Shatabdi Hospital.

“There is also the issue of relatives throwing away food, which leads to rats breeding on the hospital premises. The rats have now drilled holes in the ceilings to sneak into wards for more food,” said the official.

Dr P Jadhav, Chief Medical Superintendent, Periphery hospitals, said that they are taking necessary preventive measures for patients’ welfare. “We have set about 2530 rat traps in the hospital and the PCO officers are also working to control the menace. We will issue advisories to patients and relatives, ’’said Dr Jadhav.

Bharatiya Janta Party legislator Manisha Chaudhary and BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar have demanded a probe into the negligence.