Times of India
07 July 2010
By Yogesh.Sadhwani

Doctors and medical students have been mopping and sweeping the hospital for the past 2 days
As the city grapples with malaria, the good news is cleanliness is spreading among hospitals. Less than two weeks after around 300 KEM doctors traded their stethoscopes for brooms to clean up the hospital premises on July 26, doctors at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, better known as the Sion hospital, have launched their very own cleanliness campaign.

For the past two days, around 50 people, including doctors and medical students scrub, mop and brush away paan spittle, empty sachets, left–over food and other trash from the hospital premises. The cleanliness campaign lasts a good five hours daily, putting a smile on patients’ faces.

The Sion hospital’s clean brigade first targeted the patients’ waiting area and a garden on the sprawling hospital premises. From these two places alone, they managed to clear out so much garbage that it filled 60 bags! On Friday, a batch of students, workers and doctors cleaned the wards. Dr Rajesh Dere, secretary, senior medical teachers association, and students in–charge at the hospital, said, “The aim is to ensure mosquitoes do not breed near the hospital. We owe it to our patients and their families.”

Hospital sources said the authorities were tired of no action despite repeated complaints about the dirty environs of the hospital. A senior doctor said, “There was so much filth around the hospital, despite so many sanitation workers around. Doesn’t that say it all? We decided to clean up the place ourselves.”

On Sunday, around 300 people – 150 students and equal number of doctors – supported by hospital staff, will join the cleanliness campaign. Akshay Patil, student council secretary, said, “We will scrub the hospital clean and rid it of all the stains. You will see a sparkling clean hospital.”

The hospital administration is thrilled. Dean Dr Sandhya Kamat said, “A huge pat on the back to all involved. It’s a great voluntary effort on their part. I have made sure they have everything they need to make the movement a huge success.”