A patient lies on the ground at Rims on Friday, a day after the Jharkhand Assembly Petition Committee members inspected the hospital. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, July 8: A day after an inspection by the Jharkhand Assembly Petition Committee members, the orthopaedic ward of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) was back to what it remains on any other day.

For the patients the situation returned to normal today with dirty bed sheets and laid-back attitude of the authorities greeting again,

The sanitation facilities remained poor with water leaking in the bathrooms and an unbearable stench greeting the patients of the orthopaedic ward.

The committee had lambasted the hospital authorities improper sanitation facilities even though considerable funds were allocated to the hospital.

The committee members comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator Annapurna Devi, Janata Dal (United) MLA Radhakrishna Kishore, former health minister Dinesh Sarangi, leader of Opposition Sudhir Mahto among others had also termed the administration as a complete failure.

Bano Mahto, one of the patients in the orthopaedic ward, said he has been here for the last four days, but the nurses are not giving proper attention.

?I have seen that the bedcovers are seldom changed. But it was changed yesterday to give a neat and clean look,? said Mahto.

Hospital sources however, pointed out that there is only one cleaner for every 48 patient, which makes it difficult for them to keep the place clean. Sources disclosed that the numbers of bed sheets allocated to each ward often fall short of the number requisitioned by the ward.

The committee had also questioned the irregularities in allocation of funds for the proper use.

According to budget reports, submitted to the committee by the Rims authorities yesterday, the administration had failed to spend about Rs 34 crore from 2002, when the hospital was established.

An official at the hospital said: ?The nurses and many others in the staff are not getting their allowances. They do not get their arrears and domestic allowance.?

In his reaction, Rims director J. Prasad said: ?The authorities of different wards have been provided with the adequate number of bed sheets but it is not my fault if they do not provide it to the patients. As far as funds are concerned, they were not meant to be distributed among the employees for their allowances. They were meant for the development of the neuro-surgery and cardiology wards.?

Prasad maintained that no new bed sheets were purchased due to the committee?s visit.

?The authorities concerned of different wards have been provided with the adequate number of bed sheets but it is not my fault if they do not provide it to the patients. As far as matter of spending funds are concerned, they were not meant to be distributed among the employees for their allowances. They were meant for the development of the neuro-surgery and cardiology wards,? said Prasad.

The director added that it was not possible for him to check each and every ward and see if there are private pathologists taking blood samples or not.

?There is provision of conducting all sorts of tests and examinations in the hospital and if the patients indulge in hiring others, then what can we do,? said Prasad.