The paediatric department of SSKM Hospital underwent a makeover overnight, in a bid to impress a visiting Medical Council of India (MCI) expert on Monday.

MCI’s Siddhartha Ramji came on an inspection following the hospital’s plea for permission to start an MD course in paediatrics.

The walls were given a fresh coat of paint, an unused room was turned into a seminar hall and an intensive care unit was hurriedly set up, said a hospital official.

Since morning, medical superintendent Ashok Ghosh and other senior officials were present in the department to ensure that things were in order.

When Ramji walked in around 12.30pm, each patient was being attended to by a nurse. The smell of fresh paint was still in the air.

Moments before, an official was heard shouting: “Two electric points are not working. I want them to be fixed in five minutes.”

The mother of a seven-month-old child admitted in the ward said: “We were surprised to see that each patient was being attended to by a nurse. On other days, when we call nurses even during an emergency, they either do not respond or shout back at us.”

The guardians of the children in the hospital were not allowed to enter the ward during the morning visiting hours.

Ramji refused to comment after wrapping up his visit, saying: “I will submit my report to the MCI.” The hospital authorities, however, claimed that he was “satisfied” with the infrastructure.