Mumbai: Deep cleaning drive falls short as major BMC hospitals still struggle

A special deepcleaning drive was conducted across all BMC hospitals between November 6 and 20 under the Swachata Pakhwada initiative with the civic body claiming its goal was to make facilities ldquoinfectionfree and patientfriendlyrdquo But a midday reality check across four major civic hospitals Cooper KEM Sion and Nair revealed that despite surfacelevel improvements core hygiene issues remain unresolved Garbage piles debris scrap material paan stains and stray animals continue to be a part of the daily hospital environmentThe inspection exposed a persistent problem A combination of poor civic sense among visitors and inconsistent upkeep The result is a repeated failure to maintain basic hygiene inside the cityrsquos busiest public hospitalsReporter ObservationsCooper hospitalGarbage was seen right at the entrance with cats roaming the premises Paan stains marked the walls and drinking water areasGarbage scattered across Cooper Hospitalrsquos premises even after the fortnightlong cleaning campaignScrap dumped at Cooper Hospitalrsquos entrance contradicting officialsrsquo claims of improved cleanlinessA neglected area behind Cooperrsquos OPD waiting section where trash continues to accumulateGarbage and poor upkeep around the ambulance bay at Cooper Hospital critical emergency zoneKEM HospitalScrap material lay dumped along ward passages and garbage was found in nooks and corners Only the deanrsquos office area was well maintained The CVTC building walls were stained with paan marksFresh paan stains on the CVTC Building at KEM Hospital highlighting continued spitting inside the campus picsRitika GondhalekarScrap and garbage lying in the groundfloor passage of KEM Hospitalrsquos main building untouched during the driveThe firstfloor corridor at KEM Hospital where scrap remained despite the deep cleaning exerciseNair HospitalGaps and corners were splattered with spit stains Scrap and raw construction material were dumped outside the nonfunctional lifts in the OPD buildingThe staircase to Nair Hospitalrsquos psychiatry ward where spit stains and grime remain despite the deep cleaning driveThe view from the waiting area outside Psychiatry Ward at Nair Hospital where clutter and poor maintenance persistConstruction debris raw material dumped in the OPD lobby at Nair Hospital even after the BMCrsquos special cleaning initiativeSion HospitalDebris and construction scraps were found across several areas Stray dogs were seen napping inside wards Washrooms however were noticeably cleaner than usualUnattended scrap piled inside Sion Hospitalrsquos premises contradicting claims of thorough cleaningPatients SpeakSushil Jadhav KEM Hospital visitor MondaylsquoAt least the floors and OPDs looked cleaner compared to last month We didnrsquot even know a cleanliness drive was conducted But there is still garbage in some parts of the hospitalrsquoAbhishek Singh Sion Hospital visitor TuesdaylsquoStray cats and dogs can still be seen roaming around the premises and sometimes inside the wards Hospitals must be made strayfree because these animals carry diseasesrsquoMaya Trivedi Nair Hospital visitor TuesdaylsquoPaan stains are everywhere People donrsquot understand that they shouldnrsquot spit especially inside a hospital Even with a mask on we donrsquot feel safersquoPiyush Mishra Cooper Hospital visitor MondaylsquoFrom stray animals to garbage no one would believe a deep cleaning drive happened What exactly did they clean Maybe they just emptied the overflowing garbage bins I visit often and I donrsquot see any major improvementrsquoVoices from the systemDr YB Chavan Professor and incharge of the deepcleaning drive at KEM HospitallsquoDuring the drive we divided the campus hostels deanrsquos bungalow and other premises such as the CVTC building into 10 to 12 zones Each zone had different incharges We also categorised the type of garbage For instance keepers were responsible for clearing waterlogging and garbage from time to time maintenance and electrical engineers had to ensure no electrical waste was left unattended and civil engineers were tasked with handling wood and other debris We agree that not everything has been cleaned Patients and their relatives are also responsible for the continuous garbage The drive did alert the staff Debris that earlier took two or three months to clear is now removed within days The process to discard instruments and other material is lengthy because of bureaucracy involvedrsquoDr Devdas Shetty Medical superintendent Cooper HospitallsquoAs part of the deep cleaning drive walls glass and floors were cleaned thoroughly Unfortunately so many people come to the hospital daily that itrsquos difficult to conduct deep cleaning every day However we get the hospital cleaned thrice a dayrsquo Dr Shailesh Mohite Dean Nair HospitallsquoCleaning is not the problem But doing it constantly needs manpower which all civic hospitals lack Also disposing of scrap is not easy due to lengthy bureaucratic process And maintaining of the facilities is a big task given the number of patients the hospital caters to dailyrsquoSharad Ughade Deputy municipal commissioner HealthlsquoWe have appointed an independent inspection agency to audit and submit a report on this deep cleaning drive Once we get that report we can know more The agency was appointed to ensure there is no bias whatsoeverrsquoDr Mohan Joshi Dean Sion HospitallsquoAs part of the deep cleaning drive all premises including the maintenance building hostels and other areas were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected We have also begun the process of scrapping old material Things take time given the size of the hospital We also have an NGO that works every Sunday to spread awareness about cleanliness among patientsrsquo relativesrsquoDr Jamila Khan Health activistlsquoThe only practical solution is that officials work meticulously and sincerely Appointing cleanliness marshals ensuring no one litters providing enough garbage bins and maintaining adequate water supply in washrooms will helprsquo