One of the state-run hospitals of the city once again came under the scanner when a patient’s hand was allegedly nibbled by a rat.

Relatives of the victim have complained to the hospital authorities in this regard, who have promised to look into the incident.

Shobha Rani Mistri (50), a resident of Regent Park in south Kolkata, was admitted to the orthopaedic department of the government-aided SSKM Hospital on September 18. She was suffering from a tumour in her left leg. According to the complainants, Mistri was bitten by a rat on her left hand.

“We have not received any written complaint. However, we have heard about the incident. It is regrettable. Tomorrow, we have called a meeting with the company officially responsible for pest and rat control. We will take necessary steps once we get to know the exact reason behind the mishap and those responsible for it,” said Debashish Bhattacharya, superintendent of SSKM Hospital.

Shobha Rani’s tale, however, is not an isolated one.

On numerous occasions government-sponsored medical colleges and hospitals have come under severe criticism with plenty of similar cases surfacing.

According to many health officials, cleaning up of the wards is not possible all the time with the hospitals always being overcrowded.

“I still do not know about the incident. But last time when a similar case took place at NRS Medical College and Hospital the hospital authorities took up the responsibility of treating the victim. We have also instituted the Roogi Kalyan Samiti which is responsible for taking care of the necessary infrastructure of the government-run hospitals. However, we cannot deny that there are problems in keeping the hospitals spic and span all the time,” said Samar Ghosh, State Health Secretary.