As on a regular day, Shashikant reported at the site in the 2pm shift at the Godrej Memorial Hospital, Vikroli, in Mumbai. He took the cleaning agent – R2 – from the supervisor’s room and headed straight to the washroom. “Generally, it requires a capful of cleaning agent to clean the entire washroom. But that day, I added a few extra drops unknowingly and the solution was soapier than required to mop the floor. So, instead of washing once, I had to wash the floor twice. I was very cautious not to leave behind any residue; I carefully checked each tile and every corner of the washroom.
“It took a good one hour to complete the cleaning work. But then… all my toil went down the drain. As I turned around to leave the washroom, I didn’t notice the soapy solution left behind on the white flooring. I lost my balance…. my feet gave way, there I was on the floor and the mop went flying in the air. I tried to get a grip on the wall, but the bucket pulled me down. I fell on my arm and I screamed with shooting pain followed by a black out!
“ A while later I slowly tried to get back on my foot, but my screams had already alerted the hospital security personnel, who immediately rushed me to the casualty ward. Later in the evening, I was shifted to ESIC hospital at Mulund.”
The recovery from the fracture took one month. “In my 10 years of service at ‘All Services’, this was the only major accident that had happened because of my mistake. Yet, this one taught me the importance of being accurate and careful while handling chemicals and equipment.”
A “painful” lesson though. All janitors thereafter were given a round of formal training again.
