Rat-biting incident: HFH cooling system, a safe haven for rats

Non-functional since 1983, the AC system has become a breeding ground for rats.

RAWALPINDI:

The aging central air conditioning system at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) has become a breeding ground for the hospital’s rats, one of whom made headlines recently.

The system, installed in 1983, only functioned for three months after it was inaugurated by President Gen Ziaul Haq. The administration has been unable to either get the system repaired or removed, and in its non-functional state, the vents have become a safe haven for rats, hospital officials said.

The AC plant, multiple pipes and ducts have been unused for many years, and the recent rat-bite incident has caused questions about the utility of the cooling system to resurface.

“After the system was installed in the building (now informally called the old building), no serious effort was made to get it repaired as it would need a lot of money and hassle,” said a deputy medical superintendent (DMS), on condition of anonymity.

The DMS added that in the inquiries following the November 26 incident when a rat bit a newborn, the utility of the cooling system and its side effects were discussed at length.

Commenting on the situation, Young Doctors Association Rawalpindi General Secretary Dr Umer Saeed criticised the Punjab government for not addressing the real reason behind the incident, namely the aging cooling system.

He said that instead of removing the Rawalpindi Medical College principal and the hospital medical superintendent, the government should have removed the cooling apparatus --- where the rats continues to breed.

New HFH Medical Superintendent Dr Arshad Sabir was not immediately available for comment.

RMC Principal Dr Afzal Farooqi said a proposal to remove the cooling system had been sent to the RMC Board of Management (BoM), which looks after HFH and the other two government teaching hospitals in Rawalpindi.

“The decision to dismantle the apparatus will hopefully be taken in the next [BoM] meeting,” he added.

Dr Farooqi said the contractor hired to exterminate rats and other pests from the hospital has already been directed to fumigate the pipes and ducts of the unused cooling system before it is “hopefully” removed for good.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2012.