TIRUCHY: Two new mothers with newborns in their hands were among the 18 patients who were stuck for over 15 minutes in an elevator on the second floor of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health building at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH), Tiruchy, on Friday night. The elevator at the aforementioned building of the hospital, relatively new, has the capacity to hold 26 people at once.
At 7 p.m. on Friday night, about 18 patients and others got stuck in it, causing inconvenience and stress. Lamenting its alleged poor upkeep, the patients claimed such instances of malfunctioning to be frequent. This reporter was among those trapped inside. The administrative office was alerted over a call by a medical staff, who, too, was present. A delay of ten minutes may have had drastic effects, said a patient attendant.
Some of the patients said they felt short of breath even after 30 minutes into rescue. "Instances like these are the reason why I fear elevators. The security staff asked us to use the elevator. They were directed by higher officials. But the elevator is not safe. It stopped midway despite it undergoing repair the last week," said a 28-year-old mother. She was holding her newborn in her hands whilst stuck in the elevator.
Another attendant said, "I came to the hospital with my daughter on Sunday. We saw the elevator going up and down without stopping anywhere. We fear using it." Meanwhile, a security staff recalled a similar incident that happened a week ago. An official, however, clarified that proper maintenance of the elevator was ensured, attributing the incident on Friday night to a "minor issue." "We have asked the servicemen to check the condition of the elevator," said the official. When contacted, MGMGH Dean Dr. D Nehru told TNIE that he would immediately look into the matter.