ISLAMABAD, Jan 22: Doctors and patients have expressed grave concern over the growing presence of rats, cats and bugs, including cockroaches, in different wards of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims).

The doctors told Dawn that incidents of wild animals coming across people inside the boundary wall of the hospital were increasing with the passage of time.

The situation has become a serious threat to the life and health of poor patients, they added.

“The animals and insects in the wards can spread contagious diseases easily by a simple bite,” a doctor on condition of anonymity said.

The overall cleanliness of the hospital is also not encouraging and the moment a patient or his attendant enters the building, the first thing he encounters is pungent smell, he added.

During night cockroaches are visible in emergency, accident and casualty wards where patients are admitted for preliminary checkup.

“To kill my time while lying on the bed of the casualty ward, I started counting the cockroaches moving across every thing including medicines and eatables,” Mr Mushtaq said.

“We have lodged several complaints with the hospital management but in vain,” a doctor said.

The insecticides used to kill these bugs are either of very low quality or these insects have developed immunity against these chemicals, he added.

The bugs sometimes even damage the tubes of drips (dextrose injections) or fall inside medicine packs contaminating the drugs, the doctor said.

The state of affairs of the hospital were contrary to the directions given by the federal health minister, Mohammad Nasir Khan, who during his recent visit had asked the management to make arrangements for removing these insects and animals.

However, enough measures were not taken to address the issue, the doctor said.

He suggested that the situation could be improved provided the assistant directors ensure their presence in the hospital during nights.

If the discharge of patients at the casualty wards is removed promptly by the staff, the complaint about odour can be settled, he added.

The patients also complained about the sound of rats sprinting up and down in the air ducts and false ceiling.

These animals are dangerous as in addition to eatables, they also eat dangerous hospital waste, the doctor said.