Abandoned beds gathering rust near wards and other discarded items that cause inconvenience to patients and staff at MGM Medical College & Hospital will soon be a thing of the past.

Following a directive from the East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla, the hospital authorities have asked all the departments to submit a list of scrap material lying with them within a week for auction.

“We have asked all the department heads to compile a list of things lying unused either inside or outside the wards at the earliest and submit it to us within a week. After getting the lists, our procurement cell prepare an inventory. Thereafter, we will start auction process through a private bidder. We hope to complete the entire process by the end of March and make the hospital clean,” MGM Hospital superintendent Dr Sanjay Kumar said.

Health minister and Jamshedpur West MLA Banna Gupta, during his visit to the hospital earlier this month, had expressed his displeasure at the scrap materials lying on the hospital premises.

“The scrap items take up a lot of space besides contributing to the unhygienic condition at the hospital. Several beds have gathered rust and often attendants of patients and hospital staff get hurt,” a senior doctor said.

Several soiled pillows and bed sheets found strewn around the wards not only emit foul smell but are also potential sources of infection.

“We are planning to burn them in the incinerator at the hospital as soon as possible. We have already started a survey of the materials that are lying unused for years,” said hospital deputy superintendent Dr Nakul Choudhary.

Meanwhile, the building construction department has been asked by the deputy commissioner to ensure levelling the roads dug up for the construction of a sump and also fill up the potholes for the convenience of patients and visitors.

“We cannot take the trolleys to the hospital because of the pothole-riddled roads. The building construction department has been asked to get it repaired,” said Dr Choudhary.

The 514-bed hospital has an occupancy rate of over 75 per cent.