Patna, May 26: Washrooms and toilets in Indira Gandhi Critical Care unit or emergency ward of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) are the most unhygienic and dirty. Shockingly, it is from here that most attendants looking after their ailing relatives take drinking water, as the ward has no arrangement to provide for clean, potable water.

Sources said the hospital has a few electric purifiers but they have been out of order for several years now. “As a result, most of the people who have their relatives admitted here take water from washrooms which are very dirty. Some others take tap water from basins inside the wards but even those are very filthy and never cleaned,” said a junior doctor on duty in the emergency ward.

While patients and their relatives are forced to drink unsafe tap water, doctors, nurses and most of the other staff buy mineral water from canteen outside the emergency ward. “During 12-14 hour duty, it is not possible to carry water from home and hence we do not have any other way than to buy mineral water. Every day we spend Rs 40-50 just to get clean drinking water,” the junior medico said.

Destitute patients and their relatives, however, do not have that much money to spend on bottled water and hence they are dependent on dirty tap water for quenching their thirst.

“I sometimes go the outside the ward to get water from the hand pump. However, most of the times, I have to drink the tap water as I cannot leave my critically ill son alone,” said Rubi Devi, an attendant who has come from Chhapra for the treatment of her ailing son.

Some people were also seen washing dishes inside the washrooms in the emergency ward where hundreds of patients are admitted.

“We know that the water we are drinking is not pure but what do we do? We do not have the money to buy potable water. Also this is peak summer when water consumption is highest,” said Prithvi Raj, who is looking after his ailing mother.

Experts maintain that while the underground water which is supplied to the ward might be clean, there are chances that the tap water in the washroom is contaminated. “In the event of a pressure drop due to excessive usage or a leakage somewhere, a condition known as backsiphonage can be triggered. This can cause toilet tank water to get pulled into the water supply line if certain other conditions exist. Hence if people are consuming tap water in the hospital, that too from bathrooms, it is very likely to be contaminated,” said a senior doctor at the hospital.

The contaminated water may lead to ailments like diarrhoea and jaundice.

The hospital administration, on the other hand, was at a loss of words on why the electric purifiers have not been repaired for so long.

“Public health engineering department workers once tried to fix the purifiers but they found that the candles are blocked. We are now getting the candles replaced. They will be repaired within a day or two. The next time you visit the hospital, you will see the problem solved,” PMCH deputy superintendent Dr R.K. Singh told The Telegraph.