Doctors at Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital are regularly falling ill thanks to the poor hygiene at the mess being run at the two hospitals.
Common complaints being made by the duty doctors after having their meals at the mess include vomiting sensation, stomach ache and low grade fever. In rare cases, a few have come down with typhoid too.

In fact, the situation is worse at the Gandhi Hospital mess above the emergency block, with the doctors claiming that it is infested with rodents.
“It’s the worst place to have food, but we are helpless as 70-80 duty doctors working for 24 hours at a stretch cannot bring food from home. I have an upset stomach now,” said a senior doctor at Gandhi Hospital on condition of anonymity.

The mess at the hospital neither has a fridge to store vegetables nor proper containers to store cooked food. One can see rotten tomatoes, chillies and other vegetables left to dry on pieces of paper and half-eaten food kept in dirty plastic containers without lids. Leftovers from lunch being served for dinner is also quite common. Adding to the troubles is the fact that the wash basin is situated in the common eating area itself.

However, when contacted, both OGH and Gandhi Hospital authorities denied the allegations. “The hospital food is served to both doctors and patients only after it passes quality tests every day. However, if any individual doctor has any issues, it can be brought to our notice,” said Dr G V S Murthy, superintendent, OGH.