As water enters wards, hosps rush to shift patients

As water enters wards, hosps rush to shift patients

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

12.11.2021

More than 100 patients from Chromepet Government Hospital were moved to Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital and Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital on Thursday after water gushed into wards on the ground floor.

Director medical services Dr S Gurunathan said all patients were stable but they had to wade through kneedeep water to board ambulances and jeeps. Power supply was suspended for safety reasons.

The flooded wards brought back memories of 2015 floods and residents revived their demand for the hospital’s demolition. “The hospital is in a low lying area and there is no path for water to flow out. State should bring down the hospital and build a enew facility,” said social activist V Santhanam.

Attendants were annoyed that patients were shifted only after the hospital was flooded. “With the slightest of rain the hospital gets flooded,” said Palanivel S, whose niece delivered at the hospital. “The mother had to wade through contaminated water with the child.”

Doctors at the flooded peripheral hospital in K K Nagar moved two patients to Royapettah GH. “In most hospitals, we have placed high power motors to pump out water,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu.

LATE MOVE: Patients were shifted from flooded hosps and pumps were used to clear the water