Patients complain of lack of water and bad toilets in Stanley hospital

Jaya K (54), a resident of Royapuram who visited the hospital for a routine check-up was appalled at the condition of the toilet there. With no water, the toilet was wreaking of urine, which made her nauseous. 

“When you ask the guards for the direction to a toilet, they mostly guide you to the toilet on the left of the gate. The toilet that has a common entry for both men and women is in a terrible condition. Men are found standing topless at the entrance drying themselves, which makes it uncomfortable for women. Besides, the stench is unbearable,” said Gowri Vijay, who was at the hospital to meet a relative. 

“There was some problem when there was maintenance in one water tank, which probably led on to the issue. The PWD told us that there was some maintenance problem in one of the tanks,” said Dr Dhanasekaran Krishnan, deputy medical superintendent of the hospital. He added that the hospital was all set to get new toilets for patients, both male and female, before September funded by the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), Ennore, under its CSR initiative. 

“There will be three sets of five toilets each for both male and females,” Dr Krishnan said. 

The facility, for which the company is spending around Rs 80, will be opened on July 2. Stating that this will serve to benefit the patients at large, a doctor from the hospital said, “Maintenance of toilets have always been an important concern in government hospitals. The construction of 30 new toilets will make matters much easier for all the patients and attenders visiting the hospital.”