Pigeons were spotted roaming a ward in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) hospital in Klang, Selangor, eating patients' food and leaving droppings in the area.
The unhygienic situation came to light when a video was posted on Threads by ray_nambiar on Monday (June 8).
Netizens were quick to latch on to it, slamming poor conditions in the hospital.
In the footage, pigeons can be seen roaming around in the ward and eating patients’ food with the patients unable to do much about it, while no hospital staff is seen dealing with the situation.
The Threads user claimed that pigeon droppings were found everywhere in the ward, alleging that the ward was overcrowded with 16 beds when there should only be eight.
Netizens lamented the state of the public healthcare system, urging the authorities to upgrade facilities at the hospital.
"People keep saying public healthcare is cheap or subsidised, but that doesn’t mean patients deserve conditions like this," said a netizen, adding that "no patient should be recovering in a ward shared with pigeons".
Another said that the video serves as evidence that HTAR should install air-conditioning since other hospitals already appear to have such facilities.
Others claimed they had witnessed similar situations when visiting family members admitted there.
"It's true, guys. I had to deal with birds in the ward for a whole week. So many of them would fly in during the evenings," a netizen claimed.
Another commenter shared: "A few weeks ago when I went to visit my cousin's brother, I noticed the pigeons. I asked the nurse and she told me that that was the norm, in a sad tone."
@asiaone These pigeons clearly didn't get the memo about visitor passes. 🤔 #MalaysiaNews #Malaysia #Hospital #Hygiene #Birds ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
HTAR hospital confirmed the incident in a statement published on the same day, claiming that there is a large number of pigeons and crows in trees surrounding the hospital, and some would inadvertently enter the wards.
It said trees are pruned regularly, while wards and hospital buildings are monitored for birds, adding that it has cooperated with local authorities to strengthen efforts in managing the bird problem.
"HTAR views the matter seriously and remains committed to ensuring that the hospital environment is always safe, clean and conducive for the well-being of patients, visitors and hospital staff," it added.
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