Two operation theatres at the Centre of Excellence for Burns Treatment at the government hospital in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu are yet to become functional, even two weeks after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa opened them.
The Chief Minister opened the super-speciality service through videoconference on June 23. Though the need for such a facility was felt for long, the Rs.4.50-crore proposal was renewed only after the September 5, 2012 fire at Om Sakthi Fireworks Industry, which claimed 41 lives.
But the facility could not offer full-fledged services without the operation theatres. “The theatres have not been declared fit. Officials of the Department of Micro-Biology have to inspect them, and proper fumigation has to be done,” an official of the Health Department said on Sunday. Similarly, several instruments required for the theatres are yet to be delivered. “The indent for the instruments has been sent to the government. We expect them to be delivered soon. By July-end, the centre will function with all modern facilities,” the official said.
Four fire accidents have occurred in Virudhunagar district since June 23, and they have killed 12 persons. Except a few, most of the victims were taken to other hospitals such as the government hospital at Virudhunagar and the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
“The very purpose of the Centre of Excellence is to avoid delay in rushing victims to a super-speciality hospital. Many workers with burns have lost their lives in transit to Madurai,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader N. Muthuraj said. The former Director for Public Health, S. Elango, said the number of fire accidents was the highest in Sivakasi, and this necessitated such a facility.
