Rebuilding project in GH suffers a setback

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

CHENNAI, JULY 12. The ongoing project for construction of buildings at the Government General Hospital seems to have suffered its first setback with the schedule set for demolition of the old building exceeding deadline.

The demolition work has gone beyond the three-month schedule putting the authorities, as also patients, in a spot. As of now, the trauma ward, the casualty and the blood bank have not been shifted from the old block to make way for demolition. The hospital authorities, it is learnt, have asked the PWD to ``go slow'' on the demolition as certain ``internal arrangements'' were to be made before the entire block was vacated. It will easily take another few months before the demolition work is completed, the authorities added.

``Finishing touches are being given to a temporary ward near the pharmacy where the trauma ward would be shifted. Similarly, the blood bank will be shifted in course of time,'' the hospital authorities told TheHindu. The demolition process began on March 24.

Lack of planning was apparent and the announcement by the Health Minister last year to demolish the existing building and build a new one in its place came in a haste, a section of the health authorities felt. Prior arrangements should have been made to accommodate the wards which were to be shifted, they said.

Piled up debris and half-demolished walls greet the eye as one moves around the campus. The noise of the excavator and other machines, and the film of dust all over the place complete the picture.

The rebuilding project was drawn up by the PWD following a structural assessment of the old building in September after the floor of the TB Ward (34-H) collapsed on August 20, trapping 12 patients, one of whom died, and injuring two doctors, patient attenders and paramedical staff.

The 2029-bed hospital has lost at least 600 beds with 300 beds accommodated in the existing facilities making the wards cramped.

The medical wards have been accommodated on the first floor of the HIV and STD ward. The surgical wards from the old block have been shifted to other surgical wards functioning in the adjoining block. The rheumatology and diabetology departments have been accommodated in the new library building in the college premises. Similarly, the other speciality departments have been shifted to Neurology and Trauma Ward buildings.

A few vacant rooms used for conducting FRCS and other international-level competitive examinations have also been taken over to house some of the wards. A proposal has been sent to the government to build a few temporary wards to meet the patient rush. The old block, which has been demolished, had about 25 wards.

The project envisages two seven-floor buildings in place of the main structure spread over an acre of land. The construction was to take 15 months, as per an announcement of the then Health Minister last year.

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