A patient in the orthopaedic department of SSKM Hospital woke up late on Saturday crying out in pain — she had been bitten by a rat.

This was the second instance in five years of rodents feeding on humans at the state-run referral hospital which spends lakhs on pest control every year.

Sobharani Mistri, 50, was admitted to the orthopaedic department of the hospital with a tumour in her left ankle on September 18.

On Saturday, the homemaker from Regent Park fell asleep around 10pm.

Soon after the lights were turned off, the on-duty nurses heard a cry and rushed to Mistri’s bed.

“The patient was shivering in pain and fear. Blood was oozing out of her left hand. The rat was still on the bed,” said a hospital source. “She was administered injections and given other medicines. Nurses attended to her and dressed the wound.”

Mistri’s family members did not lodge any written complaint but verbally informed the hospital authorities about the incident.

“I have heard about it and summoned representatives of the company that has the contract for rat control. Action will be taken against them if they fail to provide satisfactory answers,” said Debashish Bhattacharya, the medical superintendent of the hospital.

In 2004, a patient in the chest department of the hospital had one of his fingers bitten off by rats at night.

In 2005, a diabetic woman had died at Sambhunath Pandit Hospital after ants nibbled on her left eyelid.

The government had ordered a probe in both cases but no action has been taken against those responsible for the gruesome incidents.

SSKM doctors complained that almost all wards were infested with rats. “The orthopaedic department, on the ground floor of the Woodburn Ward, is worst-hit. Dingy and damp, the department is just what rodents need to thrive,” said a doctor.

Rats roam around freely in other wards, too. Metro had earlier reported that faulty X-ray plates and other junk were dumped in the radiology department, creating homes for rodents.

A senior official blamed the rat menace on “inaction” by the company responsible for rat control and also a decision by the authorities in 2004 to remove cats from the hospital premises. “The hospital was not free of rats till 2004 but their numbers were under check. Since the cats were banished, the population of their prey has grown by leaps and bounds,” the official said.