The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Concern over defunct operation theatres at Virudhunagar hospital

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Tamil Nadu

Concern over defunct operation theatres at Virudhunagar hospital

It is pathetic that the defunct facilities had been left unattended for so long: MP

—Photo: K. Ganesan

SICK UNIT: One of the non-functioning facilities, building on the left, at Government Hospital in Virudhunagar.

VIRUDHUNAGAR: Two defunct operation theatres and the absence of a radiologist are causing hardship to patients coming to the Government Hospital here.

With two out of three operation theatres remaining non-functional, one of them for nearly five years, there is tremendous stress on the third operation theatre. “At times, we perform 10 caesarean sections on a single day,” said a hospital source.

The Sivakasi MP, A. Ravichandran, who inspected the hospital recently, said that it was pathetic that the two defunct theatres were left unattended for so long in a hospital with 220 beds.

Hospital sources said that many elective surgeries were being delayed for want of theatre. “With the operation theatre at the maternity ward lying defunct, patients were being brought in autorickshaws, to and from the operation theatre. This is not safe for patients as they could get infected,” sources added.

When contacted, the Joint Director (Medical Services), K. Ravindran, said that efforts were being taken to make both the theatres functional at the earliest.

No radiologist

Another major problem affecting most of the patients is the absence of radiologist for nearly five months at the Regional Diagnostic Centre located in the hospital premises. “There is an increased awareness among the people in and around Virudhunagar about the nominal fees being charged for all kinds of medical tests being done here.

Whereas private scan centres were charging up to Rs. 2,000 for a scan, it costs only Rs. 500 here,” a hospital staff said.

But, scan report could not be prepared without a radiologist. “As of now we are getting reports from Madurai. But, patients have to wait for one week,” Dr. Ravindran said.

The only saving grace is that pregnant women are not put to such trouble as the gynaecologists themselves have been trained to prepare the reports. Huge investment made for the sophisticated equipment could not be put to full use. Many patients who come for master health-check go back disappointed everyday, a staff said.

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