Infrastructural shortfalls, poor maintenance of medical equipment, inadequate basic amenities, and bribery in government hospitals in Chennai were among the key deficiencies highlighted in a ‘note’ from the Chief Minister’s Office.
The health department, in an official communication based on the ‘Note on the functioning of government hospitals’, outlined staff position and specific deficiencies relating to sanitation, drinking water, toilets, patient and attendant amenities, upkeep of buildings and infrastructure, security and perimeter protection and equipment. It asked the three directorates to appoint nodal officers to rectify the shortcomings.
It flagged staffing gaps at some of the major hospitals. The department of Cardiology of Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital had only four doctors, with vacancies remaining unfilled as the hospital lacked a post graduate cardiology programme. As a result, patients faced long waits or were forced to seek costly treatment at private hospitals. The hospital treated 500 to 600 cardiac patients daily and has 133 intensive care unit beds but only 150 nursing posts for the entire facility. At Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH), severe staff shortages forced employees to work up to 12 hours a day, leading to mental stress and poor behaviour towards patients, the department said.
At Government Stanley Medical College Hospital (SMCH), shortages of doctors and nurses delayed treatment and compromised the quality of care. Patients faced long waiting times to schedule a surgery.
Equipment shortages and poor maintenance were another major concern. At Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital, only three to four patients underwent an MRI scan daily due to lack of equipment. Emergency patients were regularly sent to other hospitals for scans, raising the need for more machines. At GRH, X-ray machines in emergency room 126 were under repair for eight months. All patients depended on a single machine in room 139, causing extreme delays. A shortage of X-ray film also forced technicians to print multiple images on a single small sheet, affecting image clarity.
At Government Raja Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar (RSRM) Lying-in Hospital in Royapuram., limited scanning facilities and beds forced pregnant women to travel to SMCH for scans.
The communication also highlighted widespread allegations of bribery. At the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Government Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore, outsourced women staff worked for prolonged periods in maternity wards, resulting in “widespread bribery and extortion from patients”. At KMC, housekeeping and security staff demanded bribes ranging from ₹50 to ₹500 from patients, while maternity ward staff demanded money based on the newborn’s gender and mortuary workers demanded up to ₹2,000 from grieving families to release bodies.
At GRH, the department said that ward staff demanded ₹300 to ₹500 to move patients or take them for scans, accepting payments through digital payment platforms when cash was unavailable. At RSRM, staff members routinely demanded bribes from parents of newborns. Similarly, at SMCH, staff demanded bribes from patients to move them to test centres or wards, and money was illegally collected at scan centres, laboratories, and the mortuary. At Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, private cleaning contractors falsified attendance records to mask staff shortages.
Poor upkeep of facilities was another recurring issue. At the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, poorly maintained hospital refrigerators were causing electrical leaks and fire hazards. Additionally, elevators broke down frequently due to lack of regular maintenance, causing hardships for patients and staff.
Among the recommendations were setting up of low-cost canteens in government hospitals, allotting free space for women self-help groups and young entrepreneurs to run juice and millet-based food outlets on a rotation basis, and providing adequate funding for clean drinking water supply and clean toilets. It also recommended simplifying the medicine distribution by adding waiting areas and more distribution counters to reduce queues.
Published - July 10, 2026 05:30 am IST