Woman goes to Tiruchy Government Hospital with broken ankle, loses toe to rat bite

TIRUCHY: A 68-year-old woman who was undergoing treatment at the Tiruchy Government Hospital had her toe chewed by a rat while she was admitted to the post-surgery ward, on Thursday. Angry family members accused hospital staff of negligence, alleging that they ignored complaints about rat infestation inside the ward.

R Tamil Kodi (68) from Alathur near Kalkandarkottai in Tiruchy was brought to the Annal Gandhi Memorial GH, Tiruchy, after she injured her ankle in a fall. She underwent a surgery on Monday and was shifted to the post-surgery ward for recuperation.

When her son Vijayakumar went to serve her tea on Thursday morning, he was shocked to see her big toe bitten off, allegedly by rats. As the elderly woman is a diabetic, she could not sense the bite, the family said.

“We have been complaining about rats inside the wards for the past few days and had asked the staff to keep the doors closed. But they refused to heed to our requests, saying the particular door was the entry to another ward. My worst fears came true, the rat bit off my mother’s toe,” Vijayakumar alleged.

“When I complained about this to the staff, they asked me to wash the toe that was bitten off,” Vijayakumar said.

After the matter triggered a controversy, Dean Dr S Kumaravel visited the ward and directed the staff to shift Tamil Kodi to the ICU, where she is undergoing treatment now.

FOOD FOR RAT

• Sixty-eight-year-old Alathur resident R Tamil Kodi was brought to the Annal Gandhi Memorial GH, Tiruchy, with an ankle injury

• She underwent a surgery on Monday and was shifted to the post-surgery ward for recuperation

• On Thursday morning, her son Vijayakumar who brought her tea was alarmed to see his mother’s toe bitten off

• He raised an alarm and said staff at the hospital ward allegedly ignored hiscomplaints of rat infestation

• The hospital has moved Tamil Kodi to the ICU for recuperation