TIRUCHY: The maternity ward at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, which has 200 beds and operates 40 successful deliveries a day, is a picture of crumbling infrastructure coupled with poor facilities for the patients and their attendants.
The four-storey building Reproductive Maternal New Born and Child Health building, inaugurated during the previous AIADMK government under Edappadi K Palaniswamy's Chief Ministership, features a Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Centre (CEmONC), a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and beds for postpartum women on the third floor.
A number of new mothers said they were unable to sleep at night due to constant water leakage from the ceiling brought on by last week's rain. Oftentimes, the patients' attendants are forced to stay awake to protect them from the leaking water.
Praveen Ram B, a civil engineer, who recently admitted his relative to the third floor, said, "My relative's wife caught a cold as a result of the rain that occurred this past week, and once the mother catches a cold, it easily spreads to the newborn. The walls appear bulged and are wet all the time, a sure sign that the materials used are of poor quality. Walls in all floors get moist when it rains, clearly telling that the building is weak and the damage could deepen if not maintained properly."
Praveen Ram has also submitted a petition in this regard to the Chief Minister's cell.
The New Indian Express, after accessing multiple photos and video clips shared by patients during the rains and visiting the third floor, found the walls to be weak and damaged.
When hospital dean D Nehru was asked to comment, he said he had instructed authorities to look into the issue and do the needful.