The district headquarters hospital in Usilampatti which is reeling under severe space constraints will soon have a three-storey building on its campus, accommodating a facility of Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative (TAEI) and other departments.
Groundwork for construction of the new block had started with a fund allocation of ₹ 8.01 crore, said Joint Director of Health Services R. Sivakumar. “Originally, the State government allocated ₹2.75 crore for construction of a single-storey building. But the proposal was revised after it was felt that only a bigger facility will meet the needs of the rising number of visitors to the hospital,” he said.
According to senior doctor O. Chandran, the hospital serves a population of about two to three lakh in and around Usilampatti. “Since there are big medical college hospitals in Madurai and Theni, both 30 km away in either direction, the hospital primarily caters to residents of Usilampatti and the numerous villages around it. The hospital is well-equipped but cramped. For a hospital with operation theatres and other facilities, there is little space for parking,” he said.
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Dr. Sivakumar said that since the hospital is in the middle of town and surrounded by houses, there is no room for horizontal expansion.
Bathrooms located in the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric & Newborn Care (CEmONC) block are located just two metres from a room, ‘Isolation Ward,’ and there is a thick stench of urine in the air on the third floor.
It is learnt that the hospital lacks of space for treating outpatients. Occasionally, even the police outpost is used for consultation.
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Dr. Sivakumar says the new building will have an outpatient block, a general surgery ward, two operation theatres, a post operative care unit and an administrative wing and hopes that the new building will allow some breathing space.