The Hindu : Front Page : Curbs on visitors' entry to hospitals in State

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Saturday, May 05, 2007
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Curbs on visitors' entry to hospitals in State

Staff Reporter

Infection control and sanitation committees soon

P.K. Sreemathy chaired a high-level meeting on Friday to take stock of the situation.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has decided to restructure and strengthen the infection control and sanitation committees in all Women and Children hospitals in the State and to regulate strictly the entry of visitors to these institutions with immediate effect.

The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Health Minister P. K. Sreemathy on Friday. The GOs regarding the same will be issued soon, health department sources have said.

The Superintendents of W & C hospitals will be the conveners of both the infection control and sanitation committees. The committees will submit weekly reports to the Medical Superintendent and monthly reports to the Medical College Principal. The safe disposal of bio-medical waste in accordance with the Bio Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, will be the responsibility of these committees.

Regulating visitors

Overcrowding has been identified as the main problem affecting cleaning operations, sanitation and general hygiene in most Government hospitals. Henceforth, the general visiting time in all Government hospitals will be between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and only two visitors per patient will be allowed, on producing the visitor's pass. Only two visitors' passes will be issued per admission and its use will be permitted only between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Visitors may be allowed in between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. for visiting those patients who are very sick, subject to the approval of either the duty doctor or the head of the department. But for this, they will have to buy a special pass for Rs.5.

Augmenting facilities

All W & C hospitals in the State are being provided certain additional facilities, the funds for which will be released from the National Rural Health Mission.

It has been decided to provide sufficient roofed waiting areas outside the hospitals, with seating facilities and to install public announcement systems there.

The security will be tightened by installing closed circuit televisions. Computerised information centres are also being planned.

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