The wastage of precious water and a rise of water borne diseases is confronting the hospital at Sakchi, as the State-owned MGM Medical College and Hospital is reeling under a severe water crisis. It has affected the surgical and medicine wards the most. This crisis has taken place due to a leakage in the drinking water pipeline passing at the back of surgery, orthopaedic, and ENT departments of the 520-bed Hospital. The precious water has been going down the drains as water pressure in the three-storied building is low due to the water during the scorching summer heat.
"The situation is grave. There was an attempt to plug the leakage using tapes. But it could not withstand the water pressure and burst again. Due to this, the hospital is also facing the challenge of outbreak of typhoid, diarrhea and jaundice," said a nurse. Jamshedpur executive engineer, drinking water and sanitation department, Suresh Prasad accepted that there is every chance of drain water mixing with drinking water during pipeline leakage close to drains.
Hospital superintendent, R. Y Choudhary said that he has spoken to the engineering cell of health department for repairing of the water pipelines. The engineering cell is preparing estimates for repair of the leakage. Meanwhile, surgery patients as well as their relatives are carrying the water in bucket and other containers to the first floor of the surgery block. As of now, MGM has 520 beds, 10 operating theatres, ICU and CT scan units, a blood bank and 13 departments, including emergency and gynaecology. But building and facilities are rundown due to neglect, while numbers of doctors-cum-teachers, technicians and nurses continue to be far short of need.
"The hospital building is in poor condition, which needs immediate repair. Moreover the facilities at operation theatre and C T Scan need to be upgraded. The facilities for doctors and attendants also need to be addressed," conceded an official.MGM also wants cardiac, kidney and skin super specialty units, as well as separate chambers for its associate professors. " We are not happy with the situation here. Water is the basic need at an Operation Theatre. We need adequate water as we have to wash our hands and surgery equipment time and again but due to lack of water the situation is becoming serious," conceded a doctor.