India
A 22-year-old man's body was kept in the mortuary at Kamaraj Government Hospital in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, but a rat sneaked inside and bit off the man's nose leaving relatives and friends in shock
Chidambaram: Repeated incidents corpses being eaten by rats, cats and rodents are reported from government hospitals in Tamil Nadu. In a latest report, it was claimed that the a corpse kept inside the mortuary was bitten off by a rat.
Now, a 22-year-old Vaitheeswaran had allegedly committed suicide and his mortal remains were brought to Kamaraj Government Hospital in Chidambaram for post mortem. The corpse was kept in the mortuary after the post mortem. When Vaitheeswaran's friends arrived at the hospital to take the body, they were shocked to see that his nose was bitten off.
When informed about the same to the doctor, they inspected the freezer where Vaitheeswaran’s body was kept. There was a hole in the freezer, defeating the very purpose.
It is also said that the hospital premises are not clean. The authorities in the hospital are said to have told that the premises is quite large and with the resources they have it is possible to do only so much.
Just a month ago, at Coimbatore Medical College (government) Hospital, a video of cat nibbling woman's corpse lying in the corner of the hospital ward had gone viral. The woman was not identified and was admitted after someone found her on the road with leg injury, on November 16. The hospital had responded to the same and said that the cat's presence does not mean the hospital is not clean. But the patients and their family had complained that the hospital premises was unclean and there were dogs and cats roaming outside and inside the hospital.
Tamil Nadu government recently gave Quality Assurance Standards and Kayakalp state awards to the hospitals that maintained cleanliness and 13 hospitals were chosen for the award.
As important as it is to encourage and award clean hospitals, it is also important to identify ‘unclean ones' and punish the officers concerned for failing in their duties.
Many people in India can afford treatment only at government hospitals. Thus, government hospitals should be provided proper resources and made responsible for keeping the hospital clean and ensuring the safety of patients as well as corpses.
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