Bengaluru: The State Health and Family Welfare Department has been boasting of implementing precautionary measures to contain vector borne diseases ahead of the monsoon, but a visit to the government-run Vani Vilas Hospital in the city paints a grim picture.
Parts of the hospital premises seem to be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The drain outside the old SR Block (which used to be the main entrance of the hospital and is now closed) is clogged and there is no way for the water to drain off. This unhealthy state of affairs has persisted for almost one-and-a-half months now.
The SR Block houses the various infectious diseases wards. As the monsoon sets in, water borne diseases are likely to spread. A staff worker at the SR Block told Deccan Chronicle, “The drain outside the building has not been cleaned for about one-and-a-half months. After the pre-monsoon showers in the city water collected in small puddles along the drain and a foul smell emanates from the drain.”
A senior staff nurse said that such conditions are very dangerous for patients with infectious diseases like post-natal infection cases. “These patients are at high risk of acquiring any disease if there is an outbreak of vector-borne and water borne disease.”
Dengue, malaria and other water-borne and vector-borne diseases are rampant in the monsoon season. Precautionary measures by the health and family welfare department are not very evident, as in the case of the Vani Vilas hospital, where a small matter of cleaning a clogged drain seems to involve layers of bureaucracy.
When contacted, Dr Somegowda, medical superintendent of Vani Vilas Hospital said, “I have already informed the director, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute about 15 days ago about the issue. Earlier, the public works department was taking care of it, but now they say it is not their job. There is one engineer and two assistants who work for all the four hospitals, but they have not yet done the work. I will take up the issue once again with the director.”
