Lone lift in cardiology block of KMC out of order

It was used to transport bodies of burn victims

Hospital attendants carry a body down the darkened stairs at the cardiology block of the KMC.

The only lift in the Cardiology block of Government Kilpauk Hospital has not been working for the past week.

The three-storey building houses the cardiology department on the ground floor and the rest of the floors are occupied by the plastic surgery and burns ward.

A handwritten board at the entrance to the lift on Saturday stated that it was ‘Out of service'.

The patients housed in the Burns Ward in the first and the second floors are the most affected.

The lift is usually used to transport the bodies of victims of burns.

Others who come with serious burn injuries have to be carefully transported.

The sight of dead bodies being carried down the steps on stretchers was a tragic sight, said hospital staff .For the families of the victims, what matters is only to get possession of their loved one's remains.

On Saturday, there were at least two cases of deaths at the ward, said hospital staff

According to V. Jayaraman, head, Department of Plastic Surgery, the hospital had been sanctioned a lift and money had been allotted but the Public Works Department was yet to install the lift.