The new casualty and outpatient blocks of the Government Kilpauk Hospital here will become functional within a fortnight. An additional floor added to the trauma block will also be opened once the high-end equipment, being procured with Central government fund, arrives.
The casualty block will house blood bank, laboratories for biochemistry and pathology, and a cardiac cath lab, which will enable the hospital to begin a postgraduation course in cardiothoracic surgery, Kilpauk Medical College Dean V. Kanagasabai said.
A modern kitchen is also being established and the Obstetrics and Gynaecology block of the hospital has been improved. Three buildings have been constructed at the medical college, including a faculty block and a hostel for students. “Permission has been granted to build seven floors and in the first phase, we have built four floors. The hostel will have 50 rooms with a facility to accommodate 150 students. The faculty block will begin functioning from March,” the Dean said.
Senior hospital authorities, however, said that the new buildings would barely meet the hospital's growing needs. Since approval for new buildings were sought by the hospital administration a few years ago and revising the proposal would delay the construction by at least a year, officials refrained from seeking revision of the building plans, they said.
Monsoon woes
The hospital and the college premises are inundated during monsoon, forcing the college to declare holiday. The authorities said that while the level of Poonamallee High Road is being continually raised, the hospital and college remained at a lower level resulting in inundation.
Two years ago, the college authorities had sent a proposal to the State government to construct a well inside the hospital to drain the overflow from the Chetpet Lake and rainwater from the nearby areas. It was suggested that the rainwater could be released into the lake or drained after monsoon. Hospital authorities said that the plan was shelved as it was estimated that the project would cost the government Rs.5 crore.
