Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 26: Capital Hospital always remains in the headlines for wrong reasons; and it once again proved its incompetence with the latest woes being on the sanitation front, due to alleged refusal of its cleaning staff to clean the premises. It is alleged that a cleaning agency is calling the shots in the hospital in respect of sanitation, and in the wrong way.
Hospital sources told Orissa POST that sanitation was hampered due to the gunda raaj of the cleaning agency which is encouraging its sweepers not to clean the premises. “Abhiram agency has been doing the cleaning of wards and rooms for the past five years. However, the cleaners often cite reasons to skip work, and this is a worry for us,” said a senior hospital authority.
According to the hospital administration, the cleaning agencies are selected on the basis of tenders that are floated every year, but the existing agency has been winning the contract for the past five years by allegedly forcing others to keep off the bidding. This has given the agency the power to dictate terms in the hospital cleaning process.
The tussle between the hospital administration and the cleaning agency has put the patients in deep trouble. “Government hospitals usually stink, but the condition of Capital hospital is worse. A patient could survive a disease, but not the stench and unhygienic conditions,” said Gouranga Panigrahi, relative of a patient here.
“The sweepers once alleged that the hospital manager has clicked objectionable pictures of the female sweepers, an allegation that was found to be false in an investigation. They often invent reasons to skip work,” said another senior hospital authority.
“We have recently conducted the tender process in which about three bidders participated but the Abhiram agency got selected again. We are repeatedly getting complaints that the sweepers are not doing their work. We are trying to change the bidding process, but it would take time,” said Binod Mishra, superintendent Capital Hospital.
