The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Faulty air conditioner shuts down surgical block at Stanley Medical College Hospital

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Faulty air conditioner shuts down surgical block at Stanley Medical College Hospital

R. Sujatha

Surgeons unable to cope with the long list of people waiting for elective surgeries

CHENNAI: Operation theatres on the first floor of the eight-floor surgical block at the Government Stanley Hospital in north Chennai have remained dysfunctional for nearly a year because of problems in the centralised air conditioning system.

The 20-year-old building has 10 operating tables each on the first and second floor. The first floor was used for general surgery while the second one was used for specialities.

As only the second floor is functional, doctors share the theatres for specialities and general surgeries.

Since the first floor theatres were shut down, surgeons have not been able to cope with the long list of people waiting for elective surgeries. The waiting list in speciality wards is long. A couple of patients, declared fit for surgery, were taken to the theatre and returned to the ward because the theatres were busy.

Doctors say it is not the waiting as much as the investigation procedures that are irksome for the patients.

The already frail patients undergo basic investigations in the first few days. Then an anaesthetist assesses the patient and declares him fit for surgery. When surgery is postponed, a patient has to be reassessed every 21 days until the day of surgery. Investigations take a toll on the patient's health.

Vasu, a middle-aged patient who was operated on 15 days ago, was assessed thrice and went for surgery in mid-June but he returned to his bed as the theatres were busy. On July 21, after the fourth assessment, he was operated on.

At least 12 male patients in the hospital from Andamans, Tirunelveli and Krishnagiri are awaiting surgery for over two months.

A few of them are in their late teens. All of them are earning members of their families.

Doctors say since these surgeries are elective the patients are made to wait. Emergency procedures are done to save lives in the emergency theatres in the main hospital block. Once the emergency procedure is done, the patient is moved to the surgical block for re-surgery, which can wait. As most of them need continual medication and supervision the patient cannot return home.

D.R. Gunasekaran, dean said the renovated operation theatres would be opened by August 15 and the closure had not affected emergency surgical procedures.

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