After rat tragedy, cats roam in MY Hospital HIV unit:Kittens born in OPD; hygiene concerns resurface

A cat recently gave birth to three kittens inside the hospital’s Outpatient Department (OPD), exposing serious lapses in sanitation and monitoring. The presence of animals inside treatment areas has triggered concerns among patients and staff alike. Hospital authorities confirmed that the incident came to light after kittens were spotted within the OPD premises. Cats roaming in HIV ward, medicine room More alarming is that the cats have been moving inside the highly sensitive HIV ward and the medicine distribution room. The development has raised fears about contamination of medicines supplied under the Central government’s free HIV treatment programme, under which patients receive medicines worth thousands of rupees every month. Moreover, some employees of the ART Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre were reportedly found feeding and caring for the cats within the hospital premises. Dean calls it lapse, assures action MGM Medical College and MY Hospital Dean Dr Arvind Ghanghoria acknowledged the incident and termed it a lapse. The matter came into our cognizance. We have asked the housekeeping company to clear the premises and put cages to catch the cats. The OPD gets closed after 2 pm, so there is no threat of infection. Dr Ghanghoria said. He confirmed that two of the three kittens have been rescued, while efforts are underway to capture the third. Dr Ghanghoria added that accountability of the pest and animal control agency will be fixed. Housekeeping agency fined Rs 25000 The latest development comes months after a disturbing incident in which rats allegedly gnawed two newborn babies inside the hospital, leading to their deaths. The episode had sparked outrage and led to questions over sanitation standards. Just two days ago, the housekeeping and rodent-and-animal control agency BVG was fined Rs25,000 for lapses in maintenance. Despite the penalty, the fresh ‘cat episode’ has once again exposed weaknesses in monitoring and infection control. With repeated incidents involving animals inside critical wards, concerns are mounting over patient safety and hygiene standards at one of Madhya Pradesh’s most important public healthcare institutions.