VIJAYAWADA: The newly-constructed hall for gynaecology patients in the old Government General Hospital, Vijayawada, is serving no purpose even though there are large number of patients in the ward. As the ward is built with galvanised sheets without ceiling or AC facility, patients are unable to stay in the new ward.
The summer sun has turned the ward into a blast furnace. With this, the patients were shifted back to the old wards and there they were seen sharing beds with other patients. The newly-built ward was virtually rendered unusable in summer.
In September 2018, the then district collector B Lakshmikantham and Hospital Development Society of Vijayawada GGH, directed AP Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) officials to construct a temporary ward for accommodating around 20-30 beds for the gynaecology department at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.
The APMSIDC officials invited the tenders and entrusted the responsibility of constructing the ward to two contractors. In order to accommodate the huge number of delivery cases, the hospital officials decided to set up the temporary ward with 20 beds. Though the officials spent Rs 20 lakh, the ward turned out to be just like a shed, as it was built with galvanised sheets.
In November 2018, the officials inaugurated the ward and started using it as a pre-operative gynaecology ward.
However, due to summer and increasing heat conditions prevailing in the wards, the patients inside the ward started to suffer from heat waves. Though the officials kept water coolers in the ward, they are not serving any purpose. So, the hospital authorities shifted the patients back to the old wards.
Speaking to TNIE, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of old GGH Radha Krishna said, “The ward is in operational status but since it is summer and the temperatures are increasing every day, patients are facing inconvenience and are unable to withstand the heat. So we shifted them back to old wards. We requested the officials to make the new ward air-conditioned and the discussions are going on. In the winter season, this ward came very handily and useful in accommodating patients.”