30% of elevators in govt hospitals need to be replaced: Expert
A senior government doctor working in Namakkal told TNIE one of the major challenges confronting public hospitals is the sorry state of the elevators.
Published: 17th January 2023 05:48 AM | Last Updated: 17th January 2023 05:48 AM | A+A A-
Patients and their attendants wait for the lift at RGGGH | P Jawahar
CHENNAI: Public Works Department (PWD) officials inspected the elevators installed at government hospitals in rural and urban areas of the state. The initiative comes after Health Minister Ma Subramanian got stuck in Stanley Hospital’s elevator recently.
A senior government doctor working in Namakkal told TNIE one of the major challenges confronting public hospitals is the sorry state of the elevators. “On the other hand, many government hospitals in urban and rural areas have been functioning without lifts. In these hospitals, only the patients going upstairs will be allowed to use ramps,” he said.
Another senior doctor hailing from Karur said as there is no lift operator in many government hospitals, the patients are forced to operate them. A senior PWD official said the department has maintained nearly 800 lifts across the state. “According to our recent survey, approximately 30% of the lifts in the state need to be replaced. However, our inspection is continuing to identify the old lifts,” the official added.
A detailed report will be submitted to the government by the end of the month and the officials are expecting funds in the upcoming budget session.
