Patients suffer as ACs conk out at PGI OPD

CHANDIGARH: Hundreds of patients at the new OPD in PGI were made to stand in the scorching heat and some of them even collapsed as the air-conditioners conked off for more than two hours on Monday morning.
Though fans were in working condition but were hardly providing any comfort. Sandeep Verma who had come to the hospital with his mother to get her knee problem checked said, "The heat is already unbearable and now the AC here is not working which is adding to the misery. My mother is unwell and because of the suffocation she was almost unconscious."
Patients were lying on the floor and there was no spot unoccupied leading to suffocation. There was a constant rush of visitors adding to the misery. Due to non-functional air-conditioners, many were seen using newspapers and documents as hand fans. Some were also seen washing their face and hands multiple times to tackle the blistering heat.
Another patient, Roshni Mehta who had come for a medical check-up with her husband decided to visit some other hospital after witnessing the condition at PGI. She said that people collapsed due to the heat and some were lying on the floor after which she decided to go to some other hospital to get her check up done.
The inconvenience caused affected elderly patients and kids more than anyone. S S Hooda, an engineer with the Reference and AC division (RAC), refused to comment on the issue. However, he said there was an internal fault in the AC duct which led to the inconvenience. The issue was tackled in nearly two hours.