Lifts not working at Kozhikode Medical College

KOZHIKODE: Non-functioning lifts in the main building of the government medical college hospital (MCH) here is troubling patients. Of the nine lifts, only one is functioning. As many as seven lifts were out of service for weeks. And, as of last Friday, one more went kaput. The worst affected are patients who have to move quite a distance for scans, X-ray check-ups on various floors. The other option is the ramp facility at either end of the building. But women bystanders of patients find it difficult to push the patient on a stretcher over a distance.

Another hiccup is the unavailability of sufficient number of stretchers and wheelchairs. “It’s acute callousness on the part of authorities not to repair the lifts which went out of order weeks ago. The trouble of searching for wheelchairs and acquiring it after a scuffle with other people and then pushing the patient on the ramp is terrible,” says Aravindan. M.C, a bystander. Last year, the defunct lift at the Institute of Maternity and Child health (IMCH) block led to the stitches of newly delivered women unraveling when they were forced to use the staircase to breastfeed newborns admitted in the neonatal ICU.

According to sources, the latest malfunctioning of the lift was due to the leakage of a pipe. As of now, the only functioning lift is at the Hameto-Oncology ward. A majority of the lifts were installed by Thyssenkrupp Company and it is learnt that the repair work has been stalled due to the non-clearance of the pending amount.  But the hospital administration staff say that the arrears had been cleared but there was no response from the company. Reacting to the issue, MCH Principal, Dr V.P Sasidharan told DC that he was unaware of the issue and would look into it.