The unhygienic situation at Osmania General Hospital worsened on Wednesday as the storm water drains overflowed and gushed into the in-patient (IP) ward. Undergoing treatment in this ward are patients with compromised immunity and for them, the risk of contracting COVID-19 is higher as the virus is known to easily spread through droplets.

On Wednesday afternoon, murky water flowed under the beds of patients who were being administered saline. The situation, which persisted at least till the evening due to the rain, has left even the doctors and hospital staff appalled, let alone the patients and attendants. This has raised concerns over the heightened risk of transmission of infection among patients and other staff.

Patients had to be ferried on wheelchairs and their attendants had no option but to wade through the dirty water, said hospital staff. Videos of the situation went viral on social media even as politicians and general public demanded that the issue be addressed immediately.

“Critically-ill patients such as those recovering from heart attacks, kidney failure or paralysis are admitted to the general medicine’s IP ward and have murky water flowing under their beds. There is always a risk of contracting COVID or other infections. Rather than recovering at the hospital, they might catch some infection,” said a senior doctor at the hospital.

OGH has three blocks on its premises: the IP block, out-patient (OP) block, and Quli Qutb Shah block. The IP block is more than a century old and has always been in need of repairs. COVID quarantine wards are in the OP block.

‘Patients shifted’

In-charge superintendent of the hospital R. Pandu Naik said they alerted the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation authorities, who tried to pump out the water. “The patients were shifted from the ground floor to first floor of IP block to avoid inconvenience to them,” he said.

Storm water pipelines from surrounding localities where heavy commercial activity takes place runs through the hospital premises. “When it rained, the storm water pipelines overflowed and gushed into the IP block. Staff members tried to prevent further entry by pushing away the water. Bathrooms on the second floor of OP block, where COVID-19 suspects are admitted, are in urgent need of repairs,” sources at the hospital said.

When the water level was receding, black sediment was seen on floor of the IP block where patients and attendants were present.

Apart from the threat to the health of patients and their attendants, the morale of healthcare professionals at the hospital has taken a serious hit. They have been left wondering how to continue working in such an unhealthy environment. “We do not understand why the State government and senior officials in the Health department don’t want to address these recurring, years-old problems at the hospital. We took up many protests hoping the issues will be addressed, but in vain,” said another doctor at the hospital.

Senior doctors said it was only around 10 days ago that sewage water entered a section of the IP block, which was cleared.