It was horrific to read about rats biting two newborn babies at the govt hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Rats bit the fingers of one child in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where operated newborns are kept while another’s shoulders and head were gnawed. One of the infants, a girl, died of pneumonia. While an investigation was underway, a day later another newborn girl was bitten by rats in the ICU of the same hospital. The poor child, who had been operated seven days ago, died due to septicemia (blood poisoning/infection). Whom will the hospital suspend now? There has been gross negligence on the part of the hospital. We boast of a trillion-dollar economy, world-class infrastructure, hi-fi space missions, plans for a manned mission to the moon, affordable and state-of-the-art healthcare and so forth. Though govt hospitals are not charity organisations the least we can expect is cleanliness and hygiene to reduce infections and spread of diseases, an environment free from rats, dogs, cats, mosquitoes, flies, etc. and empathy with the patients who are from different strata of the society.
