Even as the police at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai welcome the shifting of casualty ward (No.99) from the main building to the new annexe building near Anna bus stand, they are unhappy with the facilities provided there to carry out surveillance.
The police grumble that the outpost room at Trauma Care Centre at annexe building is too small even to accommodate four persons at a time.
There were no basic amenities such as telephone connection, water, fan and bathroom in the room, a police constable said. Moreover, the outpost room had been constructed on the rear side of the building, which made it difficult for them to keep a watch on the movement of visitors, he said.
The Rs.29-crore building, constructed for handling accident-related emergencies, head injuries and casualty cases, started operating with casualty, head injury, neuro trauma and general surgery trauma wards on the occasion of the 66th birthday of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa last month.
While the casualty ward at the GRH main building handles cases relating to burns and suicides, the one that is functioning in the new building deals with accident, assault and harassment cases.
The outpost room has been lying in disuse for the past few days owing to the space crunch. The police personnel posted on duty there were forced to sit outside the casualty ward near the entrance for almost eight hours, a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity.
“We need a room with adequate space to accommodate at least two tables,” the officer said on Sunday.
When contacted, S. Vadivel Murugan, Medical Superintendent, GRH, said, “We are trying to reallocate the rooms available in the casualty ward to the police department. If the police personnel feel that it would not be ideal for them, then we will hold talks with the officials of the Public Works Department and come up with a proposal to construct a separate building for them,” he added.
