Back-to-back incidents like street dogs eating a new born baby girl, security guards charging money from patients and staff missing from duty may likely continue at the State’s premiere medical cradle Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) as the surveillance system is yet to be strengthened.
The team of Health Department doctors inspecting the labour Room for the baby's whereabouts which was eaten by canines in the wee hours of June 28 felt the need of installing more Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in some parts of the campus. Even official sources keeping a vigil eye after such incidents believe the recording facility in few installed CCTVs should be improved.
“As part of our inspection in the labour Rooms and in front of Central Emergency Ward areas connected to the baby's body eating by dogs, we suggested RIMS authorities to install CCTVs at the entrance of the labour Room and near the Hanuman Mandir to avoid miscreants,” said Dr Vidya Gupta, Additional Director, Plan and Administration of Health Directorate who headed the probe committee.
Reportedly, the new born baby was not born in the hospital. It was thrown by some outsider in the campus.
Taking prompt action over Gupta's direction, RIMS administration recently installed a CCTV in front of the labour Room. “Though we have successfully installed a new CCTV recording the entry and exit of people in the labour Rooms, there seems a need to repair the recording facilities of the CCTVs installed earlier,” said a staff.
However, the Director-in-Charge Dr SK Choudhary defended the technical faults and said, “Overall there are 16 CCTVs functioning within the campus. None are dysfunctional. I can see the routine activities on the display screen in my office connecting the cameras. We are mulling to install more CCTVs in other parts of the campus.”
“It is not an easy task to put CCTVs across the campus in a short period of time,” maintained another staff. According to students of the institution, as CCTVs are installed only at the entrance of Hostels, Director's Office and important zones, people get the opportunity of doing unethical activities in the lobby and lanes of the campus which should have been under the surveillance of CCTVs.
“We often become prey to violence because there is no CCTV to see who comes from the backside of the boundary wall of the hostel,” said a boy student.