CT scan room ceiling gives away; concerns over Karaikal government general hospital infrastructure

KARAIKAL: Tense moments prevailed at the Karaikal general hospital on Sunday morning as the ceiling of its CT scan room collapsed partially, raising safety concerns among the public. Workers, who were cleaning the room then, quickly turned towards the door. Since it was a Sunday, patients were spared of trouble, while pictures of the incident went viral on social media, triggering calls for attention.

Activists condemned the incident and the negligence of the hospital authorities on infrastructure. A Vengadesh, a coordinator with the Karai Siragugal Iyakkam, said, "The incident shows the hospital authorities' lack of concern. We do not know which room will crumble down next. All the buildings need urgent attention in terms of renovation of infrastructure. The development of the hospital, with the assistance from JIPMER, is visible only on paper."

The incident comes in the wake of two visits by Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to the hospital last month. In both instances, the L-G had assured of improvement in infrastructure with assistance from JIPMER.

R Sivarajakumar, deputy director of health services (immunisation) in Karaikal, said, "The ceiling cannot be fixed immediately as the electrical system and the connection above the ceiling and around the machine appears to have been damaged. The machine is intact. We need to call the authorised service personnel
to fix the electrical systems before fixing the ceiling."

Karaikal South MLA AMH Nazim visited the hospital and tried to inspect the CT scan room. But the hospital staff had allegedly locked the room, and told the MLA that they did not possess the keys to the room, and he left without inspecting it.

Nazim said, "The renovation carried out by JIPMER so far has not been satisfactory. It is better to construct new buildings instead of renovating old ones. The CT scan room should be moved to a renovated building. The government should take this issue seriously."

According to sources, CT scan was set up in the hospital in 1997 when the DMK-led government was in power. AMH Nazim was then the health minister of Puducherry. Unlike hospitals in Tamil Nadu, there is no charge for CT scan in Karaikal.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed with JIPMER to renovate and develop the Karaikal General Hospital at a cost of Rs 30 crore, sources said.