MCH authorities use gas heaters in labor, post-operative wards

ESS AHMAD. Dated: 1/20/2021 1:04:39 AM

Lack of coordination between Principal, MS comes to fore

ANANTNAG, Jan 18: Even as the maternity and childcare (MCH) hospital Anantnag was brought under the control of the government medical college Anantnag two years ago but the Air conditioners in the hospital continue to remain non-functional. Due to the defunct ACs the hospital administration is using gas bukharies (heaters) in the already declared unsafe building risling the lives of pregnant women seeking treatment at the facility.
In both labor and post operative wards of the space starved hospital, authorities have placed gas heaters in the middle of the wards to provide heating facility to the patients and newborns with out bothering about their health and safety.
Since the hospital is facing severe space crunch, the use of gas heaters in the poorly ventillated wards of the hospital, experts say can prove very dangerous for both mothers and babies.
"Gas bukharies in poorly ventillated rooms can prove catastrophic both at home or inn hospitals. When you keep the gas heater on in the room or ward with poor ventillation, it consumes all the oxygen in that room which can have very adverse effects on the patients and particularly new borns. Consumption of oxygen due to the constinuous use of gas heaters can cause headache, vomitting and even to death of patients in the poorly ventillated ward. One wonders how MCH authorities use gas heaters in the wards where mothers with their new borns are admitted," said a doctor at GMC Anantnag.
Doctor said that their hospital recieves cases of people falling unconcious due to the use of gas bukharies in their homes on daily basis.
A source in MCH said that they have many a time requested the Principal GMC Anantnag for purchase of ACs for installation in the hospital wards but there has been no response on his part.
"GMC has lot of funds available for infra development even for its associated hospitals but irony is that despite huge availability of funds, GMC authorities are hesitant to purchase the new ACs or repair the damaged ones installed in the hospital several years ago. One wonders how come the health authorities play with the lives of pregnant women and new borns," the source said.
MCH Anantnag , located in the congested Sherbagh locality has already been declared unsafe by the fire and emergency department several years ago given the condition of its decades old building and lack of space.
Though the authorities in 2017 had taken over trust owned under construction RahmateAlam hospital with its assets and liabities with the purpose of shifting MCH there. However, the projects being executed by JKPCC continues to drag on for over four years.
An attendant taking care of his wife in the hospital for last two days said that he has not seen the gas heater in the ward being turned off even for a minute in last 24 hours.
"I am a normal man but the continuous use of gas heater in the ward causes me headache to the extent that i move out of the room after every half-an-hour. I wonder how it would be affecting these new borns. If GMC has no funds for repair or purchase of ACs to provide heating facility to the patients then it is a joke in the name of medical college," the attendant requesting said.
Medical Superintendent MCH, Mir Ji Andrabi said that he has requested for installation of ACs in the hospital.
"GMC Principal is the authority. You can talk to him," he said.
However, when contacted GMC Principal, Dr Showkat Jeelani said that MS of the hospital has ordered the repair of non-functional old ACs in the hospital.
Asked why don't you purchase the new ACs instead of repairing the old ones repeatedly, principal said they will offcourse go for the purchase of new ACs.

 

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