The Hindu : GH waits for new building

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 07, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

GH waits for new building

By Shonali Muthalaly

CHENNAI Sept. 6 . The Government General Hospital's biggest problem now is that it has too many patients and too little space.

When one of the old hospital buildings was demolished two years ago, this problem became acute as patient inflow kept growing, though the space available to treat and house them was considerably reduced.

The shift to the makeshift quarters was hasty and haphazard as doctors were asked to move everything in one afternoon, even as the bulldozers began bringing down the old building, from where they had been operating. The patients and equipment from the casualty department were quickly moved, initially to a verandah in the present GH building, and then to what was originally the storeroom for medical supplies.

Since then, the hospital staff have been frantically trying to accommodate the patients.

As anyone with a monthly income below Rs. 1,000 is admitted and treated free, the hospital gets a huge number of patients, not only from Tamil Nadu but also Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, according to the Dean, P. Vijayalakshmi. On an average, the hospital receives everyday 7,000-8,000 out-patients. Besides, it has about 1,700 in-patients. And most of their attendants too have to be accommodated. Also there are patients who have to stay for seven months and more — for example those who undergo open heart surgery.

The staff hope that the new building, for which construction began at the end of 2001 and scheduled to be completed by next September, will solve their space problems. Funded by the HUDCO, the building, which costs about Rs. 105 crores, will have two towers, each with a basement and seven storeys. It will accommodate about 1,800 beds.

The Dean says that the hospital plans to move speciality departments such as radiology, diabetology, plastic surgery and rheumatology into the new building. The casualty department will be located on the ground floor.

All diagnostic services, such as MRI machines, blood testing and X-ray units will be on the same floor as the casualty department.

Dr. Vijayalakshmi also intends moving the wards for paying patients, general medicine and pre and post-operative male and female wards to the new building, which will have 16 main operation theatres besides two for emergency.

Once the building is ready, she will give MMC students more facilities in the existing GH building, such as a larger hostel for girls and a library, says the Dean.

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