Hospital News - Dirty Hospital Canteens and Rats

From Malay Mail Online

Serdang Hospital canteen is a disgrace

PETALING JAYA, April 19 — Customers are wary of dining in hospitals after news broke about the filthy state of Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital canteen in Klang on Tuesday. 

Malay Mail checked seven hospitals in the Klang Valley and Putrajaya yesterday on their state of hygiene. 

The checks revealed an appalling state of affairs in Serdang Hospital canteen, with the floor littered with plastic containers, cutlery, plastic straws and soiled tissue paper. 

There was a foul smell in the canteen due to poor ventilation and washbasins were clogged with stagnant water.

Despite signs asking customers to put their dishes away after eating, there was no proper indication of where to put them.

Although there were cleaners present, there were not enough to clean the tables quickly enough for the next customer, forcing them to eat on sticky tables with plates and cups left behind for more than 15 minutes.

Housewife Serena Ng, 54, said she was disappointed at the poor conditions.
“I have no choice but to eat quickly and leave the place. I am uncomfortable sitting here.

“This is not how a canteen should be run,” Ng, who was visiting a friend, said it was her first time at the hospital.

Only visitors and hospital staff were at the canteen because patients were not allowed in and a separate room was available for staff. 

The staff room appeared clean and free of rubbish and messy tables.

Further checks at Ampang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Putrajaya Hospital, Selayang Hospital, UKM Medical Centre and Universiti Malaya Medical Centre canteens bore out a feeling of greater cleanliness.

There was no rubbish on the floor and stained tables were cleaned immediately after customers left.

The cleaners also made their rounds with food trolleys collecting the used plates and cups after customers were done eating.

Housewife Nor Azimah Ismail, 32, was satisfied with the level of hygiene in the Putrajaya Hospital canteen.

“Canteens, especially in hospitals, should always be hygienic.

“Customers should also cooperate by disposing of their trash properly instead of leaving it on the table or floor,” she said, adding it was her third time there while visiting her husband.

Source: 
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/serdang-hospital-canteen-is-a-disgrace#sthash.gNRVR88C.U5omYEPp.dpuf

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From Malay Mail Online

Dirty hospital canteen ordered shut

KLANG, April 14 — An institution meant to heal the sick and wounded has become a safety hazard to both its visitors and staff.

An inspection of the canteen of Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital last week revealed unhygienic surroundings, resulting in a two-week closure. The inspection was carried out following reports the hospital was infested with rats. 

What is more shocking is the officials were not forthcoming about the fiasco. The hospital director, Dr Ding Lay Ming, was too “busy” to answer queries about the matter — which was not even discussed during a meeting between hospital directors and the Selangor state health department yesterday. 

This is not the first time the canteen was ordered to close. In February 2005, the state health department ordered the canteen to close for 14 days after it was found to be “unhygienic”. According to the health department then, the operator had ignored two previous clean-up warnings.

The inspection, led by the hospital’s health department, revealed “the standard of hygiene at the cafeteria was below par”, as stated on the notice plastered at its entrance.

The canteen, which was sealed last Friday, will be closed until April 23 “as it posed a health risk to the public”.

Workers at the hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the cafeteria’s operator, Kasulin Sdn Bhd, was sacked. Another staff said the rats running around the hospital was “nothing new”.

However, Dr Ding remained tight-lipped. She insisted she was busy when met by Malay Mail. She later said: “It is standard to close the canteen when it is dirty.” She declined to comment further.

Checks by Malay Mail at the hospital yesterday revealed rat poison strategically located near drains around the cafeteria. As the cafeteria was closed, staff and visitors were directed to the hospital’s second cafeteria located in another building. It was overcrowded, even after lunch hour.

Selangor state health department director Dr S. Balachandran said the inspection was conducted by the hospital’s health department and he was aware of the situation.

“The operator failed to fulfill the standard requirements practised in the food and beverage industry and was, therefore, ordered to be closed temporarily. The area must be cleaned up as another inspection by the hospital’s health department will determine if the cafeteria will be reopened or otherwise.”

Balachandran said it was “normal” for the hospital’s health unit to conduct inspections and they had the power to close down a premise that did not meet standard hygiene requirements.

“Dr Ding was (in a rush) as she was meeting me (yesterday), with other hospital directors. We did not speak about the canteen as there were other hospital directors during the meeting.”

Balachandran did not have more details on the reason behind the temporary closure, stressing that the inspection was conducted by the hospital’s health department. 

“The notice displayed is a standard notice,” he said, when pointed out the state health department’s name was on the notice.

Klang MCA Youth deputy chief Tan Bok Koon said the authorities should take action against the operator for running the cafeteria in such a manner.
“How can this happen? People come to the hospital to get better, not to get sick,” said Tan, who was at the hospital grounds yesterday.

“It shows the operator lacks responsibility in maintaining the area. Hospital staff and visitors will lose faith in the institution. I have eaten here before and now that there are rats, people would be afraid to come.”

The episode disappointed Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.“It is disappointing this happened in a hospital, especially since it has happened before,” he said.

“The hospital authorities should be more alert about cleanliness and cleaners should be more responsible in ensuring the canteen’s hygiene.” 

This is not the first time the hospital has hogged the spotlight for the wrong reasons. 

In January last year, Malay Mail reported the deplorable condition of the hospital where rubbish bins were overflowing while toilets and wards were not cleaned for nine days. A similar episode happened in 2012. 

A hospital staff had then told Malay Mail the hospital authority had instructed nurses to clean the toilets.

Source: 
http://m.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dirty-hospital-canteen-ordered-shut#sthash.pZFE88qv.dpuf

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From The Star Online

Rats terrorise patients and staff in poorly-maintained hospital

Klang, April 9 - THE Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang is rat-infested as a patient was unfortunate to have been bitten by a rodent.  

The existence of rats in the hospital wards for the past few months has become a nuisance not only to patients but also to the hospital staff.

If nibbling leftover food at the wards was not enough, the hungry rats have moved on to bigger bites such as a patient’s finger. 

G. Meganathan, 34, said he was bitten by a rat while being treated at Ward 8B for stomach ailment and had lodged a report about the rat-bite incident at the Pandamaran police station on April 5. 

Although the hospital declined to confirm that Meganathan was bitten by a rat, an official from the hospital said he was given a tetanus toxoid jab to prevent infection. 

Meganathan said that he had sleepless nights when he was placed at Ward 8B from March 28 until April 4, because of the rats.  

“The rats were running all over the place and I could hear them moving inside a wooden panel behind the railing of my bed. 

“I only realised that I was bitten after feeling the pain on my finger and noticed the bite marks on March 30,” he said, adding that he was given an injection to relieve the pain on his finger. 

Following the incident, Meganathan said several rat traps were placed in the ward. 

“How can one get bitten by a rat while being warded at a hospital? I expect high standards of cleanliness and hygiene,” said Meganathan, adding that he was also worried that other patients may suffer the same fate at the hospital. 

Another patient who only wished to be known as Mohamad, 38, said rats could be seen in the hospital wards. 

He said the rodents would look for food from the rubbish bins that were placed near the beds. 

“I feel very uncomfortable and the rest of the patients also feel the same,’’ said Mohammad when met at Ward 7B. 

J. Christina, 45, who was warded at the hospital for fever in December last year said she was shocked to find rats in the wards. 

She informed the hospital staff about the rodents and was told that they were aware of it but there was nothing they could do. 

“I was also informed that the hospital staff, who are mostly females, are also uncomfortable about the situation,” said Christina. 

A staff had also seen rats at the cooking area in the canteen.
“It is not surprising that the rats are here because the drains and the area around the canteen is dirty,” she said. 

Checks also revealed that facilities within the hospital’s overcrowded wards were not well maintained. 

Some of the toilet doors had no latches and the bathroom drainage outlets are often clogged.  

There were also complaints of a leaking roof on the eighth floor which resulted in wet floors at the wards on rainy days. 

A hospital source said the contractor who had been awarded with the contract to maintain the premises had failed to carry out the work responsibly. 

He said a new contractor had been appointed with effect from April 1 and the situation is expected to improve. 

“The rat problem is one of the issues that the new contractor has to deal with,” he said, adding that the company was also expected to improve the overall upkeep of the wards at the hospital.

Source: 
http://www.thestar.com.my/Metro/Community/2015/04/09/Infested-with-nibbling-pests-Rats-terrorise-patients-and-staff-in-poorlymaintained-hospital/
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