Heavy rain inundated a few hospitals in and around the city. The Government Peripheral Hospital in K.K. Nagar and Government Hospital, Tambaram, faced waterlogging on Thursday.
While patients were moved to safety, work to drain the stagnant water was taken up.
According to the authorities of Government Peripheral Hospital, K.K. Nagar, all patients were accommodated in the orthopaedics block. “This block is at a higher level. There is ankle-level water in the front block. The Public Works Department team has taken up work to drain the water,” an authority said.
Doctors said that there were two buildings — old and new — at the hospital. “The old building has half a feet of water and it is being cleared. The new building is situated behind it and is on higher elevation so there is no water stagnation. All regular out-patient and in-patient services and regular emergencies are going on as usual,” a doctor said.
The patients were shifted to the new block on Wednesday. The Health department said that three patients were discharged and two were shifted to the Government Royapettah Hospital following inundation. Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, Directors R. Narayana Babu (Medical Education) and S. Gurunathan (Medical and Rural Health Services) inspected the hospital.
Similarly, all in-patients from Government Hospital, Tambaram, were shifted to government hospitals, including the one at Omandurar, the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (IOG), and the Institute of Child Health (ICH), Egmore, an official said.
Dr. Babu said there was waterlogging on the premises of a few hospitals in Chennai but water did not enter buildings. “Efforts to pump out the stagnant water is in progress,” he said.
Authorities said patients of ward 11 of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital were moved to another block and water was pumped out while steps to drain the stagnant water on the premises of the IOG and ICH were taken up.
Similarly, the problem of waterlogging and clearing of trees that had fallen on the premises of the nursing college were addressed.
Advisory issued
In view of the monsoon and heavy rains in Chennai, the Directorate of Medical Education had nominated its officials to coordinate with deans and heads of institutions under the directorate for issues relating to floods, tree falls, waterlogging on premises and pumping out, electrical problems, oxygen and drug requirements.
Issuing instructions for precautionary measures, the directorate had told all medical institutions to form a disaster management committee comprising dean, medical superintendent, vice-principal, head of anaesthesia, residential medical officer and matron. While institutions were told to be ready and be fully functional with zero delay wards to accommodate patients, they were instructed to shift equipment from the basements to avoid damage due to flooding in case of waterlogging and temporary power issues and shift patients to other wards.
Published - November 12, 2021 12:23 am IST
