Date:04/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/04/stories/2008070461150300.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Hospitals may get generators soon

K. S. Sudhi

Local bodies to be approached for buying the equipment

KOCHI: The Health Ministry is planning to approach the local self–governing bodies in the State with a request for providing power backup system for Government hospitals, according to the Health Minister P. K. Sreemathy.

Talking to The Hindu, the Minister said, “The Ministry had held the first round of discussions in this regard on Wednesday. We would be soon meeting the Local Administration Minister with this request.”

The State Government is not in a position to provide power backup system like generators and invertors to all the hospitals. It is also a fact that most of the hospitals are not in a position to put in place their own backup system, she said.

There is proper power backup system in the medical colleges. At the most, the Government can think of is to provide generators to the general hospitals that don’t have the system, Ms. Sreemathy said.

With the imposition of half-an-hour power cut, a large number of hospitals in the Government sector are finding the going difficult without any standby system. While most of the hospitals are plunged in darkness during the power cut, some rely on candles and emergency lights.

The hospitals which have labour rooms and large number of inpatients are struggling to provide enough lighting for their most needed departments.

As 95 per cent of the Government hospitals have been handed over to the local self-governing bodies, the Health Ministry cannot directly direct the civic bodies to provide standby system. At the same time, it will not be an uphill task for the local bodies to purchase generators for the hospitals using their own funds. Any such request should come from the Local Administration Ministry and the Department hopes to sort out the issue soon during the meeting with the Local Administration Minister, Ms. Sreemathy said.

Though the Ministry explored the possibility of exempting the hospitals from power cut that was not found viable.

This was because there were no exclusive power lines to the hospitals. The only option before the Government is to urge the local bodies to provide the power backup, she said.