A 58-year-old woman was allegedly made to clean the floor of Damoh district hospital after her ailing son soiled it while waiting for medical attention, prompting hospital authorities to issue show-cause notices to the nurse on duty, a cleaning agency and an assistant hospital manager.
The incident reportedly took place last week at the government hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Damoh district. The woman, identified as Halki Bai from Simariya village in the Tejgarh area, had brought her son to the facility at night after he developed diarrhoea.
According to the report, the patient soiled the hospital floor while waiting for a doctor to examine him. The nurse on duty allegedly handed a mop to Bai and asked her to clean the area. A purported video showing the elderly woman cleaning the floor was circulated on social media on Sunday night, triggering criticism of sanitation arrangements and patient treatment at government hospitals in the state.
The patient was later treated and discharged after his condition improved, the report said. The account of the incident and the video have not been independently verified in the supplied material, while the hospital administration has announced an internal inquiry into the matter.
Hospital authorities said show-cause notices had been issued to the nursing officer who was on duty, the cleaning agency and the assistant hospital manager. They said further action would be taken after the inquiry. The notices indicate that responsibility is being examined across both on-site clinical staff and the outsourced sanitation system.
The hospital reportedly has about 52 outsourced cleaners and three supervisors. The staffing figure places the focus not only on the alleged conduct of the nurse but also on how cleaning services are deployed during night shifts, when patients and attendants may require immediate assistance.
The incident also drew political attention after Congress state president Jitu Patwari shared the video on Facebook and questioned the hospital administration and the state government. He asked whether hospitals lacked cleaning staff or whether funds allocated for sanitation were being misused. Those questions remain part of the political response and were not established by the hospital’s preliminary public response.
For patients and attendants, the episode highlights the practical consequences of gaps in hospital housekeeping and supervision. A patient who soils a public healthcare facility because of illness requires prompt medical and sanitation support; the institutional question is whether staff, cleaners and supervisors are available and authorised to respond at the time of need.
The hospital’s internal inquiry is expected to establish what happened during the night shift, whether the nurse instructed the attendant to clean the floor, and whether the contracted cleaning system was functioning when the incident occurred. The authorities have not, in the supplied report, announced a final finding or disciplinary action.
