Cockroach found in 4-year-old patient's meal at AIIMS, hospital initiates probe

The alleged incident occurred on Sunday, after the child, who suffers from Hirschsprung disease -- a condition that affects the large intestine and causes problems with passing stool -- was served a meal after he was operated upon

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has found itself in the middle of another controversy involving the quality of meals being served at the institute after the family of a four-year-old patient allegedly found a cockroach in a meal served to the child.

Responding to allegations, the AIIMS administration said, “Hospital authorities have taken a serious note of the incident and are investigating the matter.” (PTI)

The alleged incident occurred on Sunday, after the child, who suffers from Hirschsprung disease -- a condition that affects the large intestine and causes problems with passing stool -- was served a meal after he was operated upon.

“After the surgery, the doctors told us to give him only semi-solid food. So I asked the staff to give me a bowl of dal. When I gave him the first bite, I found parts of a dead cockroach in it. I made my son spit out the bite immediately,” said the child’s mother, a Noida resident who wished to remain anonymous.

“I am grateful to the doctors here because they have been there for us for the last two years, but food safety is a big concern. I panicked and alerted the hospital authorities and they assured me that they will take the strictest action in the case,” the mother said.

Responding to allegations, the AIIMS administration said, “Hospital authorities have taken a serious note of the incident and are investigating the matter.”

This is not the first time that there has been a complaint about the sub-standard quality of food being served at AIIMS.

Between August and September, two separate incidents occurred where poor quality of food was served in the resident doctors’ canteens of the institute. After complaints were circulated on social media, teams from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) conducted inspections and several samples failed the safety test.

Following the FSSAI tests, the AIIMS administration had directed the closure of a resident doctors’ hostel mess and a cafeteria.