The Telangana government has suspended two doctors and a nursing officer at the government hospital in Kamareddy town after a patient was bitten by rats.

Three employees in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) section at Government Medical College and General Hospital, Kamareddy, were suspended for alleged medical negligence following an inquiry by Vaidya Vidhana Parishad commissioner Ajay Kumar.

Kamareddy district collector Jitesh V. Patil ordered suspension of ICU in-charge general medicine doctor Vasanth Kumar, ICU in-charge doctor Kavya and nursing officer G. Manjula. The district collector also surrendered the services of hospital superintendent to the government.

Meanwhile, hospital employees on Monday, February 12, staged a protest over the suspension of three colleagues. Wearing black badges, doctors participated in the protest in front of the hospital. They demanded that the suspension be revoked. They threatened to go on strike if the suspension was not lifted.

The Telangana Teaching Government Doctors’ Association (TTGDA) has condemned the suspension of doctors. The association said the doctors were concerned only till they treat the patients and it was the responsibility of sanitation staff and officials to keep the hospital free from rats, dogs, pigs and insects. The patient was undergoing treatment at the government hospital at Kamareddy district headquarters.

Patient Shaikh Mujeebuddin was bitten by rats on his hands and feet in the ICU on February 9. According to hospital officials, he had undergone decompressive craniotomy surgery at NIMS, Hyderabad on January 21. He was later admitted at Kamareddy hospital and was on ventilator support. Attendants of other patients also complained about the rat menace at the hospital. They demanded hospital authorities to take immediate action to solve the problem.