A spacious new building meant for burns ward, constructed seven months ago at a cost of around of Rs.1 crore on the campus of Dindigul Government Headquarter Hospital here, remains unutilised, thanks to inordinate delay in inaugurating it.
This has not only delayed other infrastructure work but is also causing inconvenience to in-patients with burns lying in regular wards.
The State government has been improving facilities and commissioning ultra modern medical equipment not only to provide better healthcare but also prevent patients from shifting to the Madurai GRH or the Theni Government Medical College Hospital for tertiary care.
An artificial dialysis equipment was the recent addition. Additional operation theatres and post-operative wards were renovated recently. But, the burns ward remains a long-pending demand.
With its resources, the GH had bought 40 special cots that could hold saline bottles, special beds and enclosures around each bed in the burns ward.
Special features
“The burns ward cannot be designed like other wards. It needs special features. For example, cotton cloth enclosures should be provided to each bed for privacy as patients treated are mostly in semi-nude condition. The entire ward should be fully air-conditioned. Bathrooms should be spacious to give them periodic shower for quick cure. Mild cleaning liquid should be sprayed on the body to clean wounds,” said a doctor at the Government Hospital.
Such facilities could be provided only after inaugurating the building. At present, burn cases are being treated like other patients. This building will also house a special ward for poison and snake bite cases and a post-delivery ward.
On an average, the Dindigul GH has been treating around 1,800 outpatients and 500 in-patients every day.
