India, Sept. 6 -- The civic-run Dr RN Cooper Hospital in Juhu is in the grip of a severe crisis. Untreated biomedical waste is piling up in its backyard; housekeeping staff is picking up blood-soaked sheets in operation theatres; rodents run freely in the wards; and, recently, OPD operations nearly collapsed when hospital staff failed to turn up at work.

HT visited the 940-bed hospital on Friday and saw bags of wet and dry waste collecting in the hospital's backyard, with crows hovering. At least 30 large garbage bags filled with untreated biomedical waste were thrown in the open area behind the hospital. The waste was cleared by 4 pm, but fresh biomedical waste was once again dumped there shortly after.

According to hospital staff, haz...