With toilets out of bounds, visitors urinate at the space behind maternity ward at the government hospital in Tiruchi

The space behind the maternity ward at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital has become an open toilet with people urinating there and it has created an unhygienic environment near the waiting rooms, causing discomfort to patients, attendants, and the hospital staff. 

Being one of the biggest hospitals in the region, it attracts many patients, especially in the maternity ward. Attendants complained that there not adequate number of toilets to cater to the crowd at the maternity ward. In the absence of fencing, people urinated at the space behind the maternity ward. The toilets inside the waiting rooms were out of bounds to the public.  

“The stench is unbearable in the waiting rooms and in the lower floors of the maternity ward. The toilets in the waiting rooms are not cleaned properly, and with the taps remaining dry, they are often locked up. People use the space behind the maternity ward to urinate as it is dark,” said S. Anand, an attendant. 

Patients and attendants complained that people urinate on the waiting room walls adjacent to the maternity ward as well and the stench becomes unbearable during the rainy season. “Patients who go out for walk use the spot to urinate in the open as there is a long queue to use the toilets in the hospital. If one wanted to use a bathroom, they must walk 15 minutes to the public bathroom at Chinnasamy Nagar,” an attendant said. 

Attendants said the unhygienic conditions caused by the public urination posed a concern for the health of the patients admitted. When contacted by The Hindu, a senior health official said that more security personnel would be put up to monitor spots and more toilets would be added in future.