One of the biggest healthcare institutions of Jharkhand, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences is still battling to provide healthy and nutritious food to its patients as well as its students.
A patient admitted to the gynaecology ward of the hospital remarked, “The food provided by the hospital is not edible. So, I get my meal from a nearby organisation where good food is available for Rs 10.”
A visit to the RIMS kitchen corroborated the fact that hygiene is not properly taken care of. The storage area was covered in filth where containers with pulses were kept uncovered and flies could be spotted all over the place.
“This should not have happened. Maintaining the hygiene of the kitchen is the dietician’s responsibility. But she was on a leave on Sunday.” said medical superintendent of RIMS, Prof. Dr. Vivek Kashyap said.
However, the dietician of RIMS, Kumari Meenakshi, informing about the dietary plan of the patients claimed, “The diet has been categorised according to the needs and requirements of the patients- normal, liquid, diabetic and soft. We provide eggs, fruits and green gram pulses on a daily basis, whereas paneer and egg curry are given twice a week. Here, we provide a vast menu, which cannot be found in any public hospital in India. ”
This problem is not only relevant to the hospital but can also be seen in the student hostels. Ajay, an MBBS student residing in one of the boys’ hostels of the college said, “The hostel mess is run by private contractors, who have been hired by the college. Hygiene is not maintained by them. We are not given any fruits or milk. The food provided is not in accordance with the diet plan of a person. We don’t have any choice but to adapt to the poor food quality.”
Apart from this, the kitchen officials are in a pay dispute with the hospital administration. On condition of anonymity, an official of ‘Prime Services’, the agency that caters meals to the patients according to the prescribed diet disclosed, “Our agency has not received payment of about 2.25 crore for the last six months. We had a 2-year contract with the institution, which ended on June 7, 2019 and since then we have not received a work-order or any form of written documents to continue. Even after all this, we are working only for the sake of the patients.”