By IANS,
New Delhi : With power cuts becoming a routine feature in the national capital and residents reeling under the merciless heat – municipal hospitals are finding it tough to carry out services, Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain said Monday.
There are six major hospitals under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
“The problem is not that there is lack of supply of medicines or oxygen or hospital services. The heat wave has added to the woes of patients and in some cases worsened their situation – the constant outages are causing a problem,” Sain told IANS.
One of the largest MCD hospitals in the capital, the 980-bed Bara Hindu Rao hospital in north Delhi recorded 30 deaths Sunday — five of which were directly attributed to the heat wave, hospital officials said.
Kamala Bai, 78, died due to severe dehydration at the hospital where there was no electricity for over an hour.
“Her death was directly due to the ‘loo’. The hospital is still investigating into her death,” MCD spokesperson Deep Mathur told IANS.
Speaking about the surge in casualties with the mercury remaining high, the mayor said: “Although the deaths were natural deaths – one can see that the heat and power cuts are making it difficult for patients – the way these private companies are handling the power situation is just not done. I will be approaching the Delhi government to ensure that there is round-the-clock power supply at least at hospitals.”
Around 150 patients are admitted daily at the BHR hospital with such “summer” ailments, records revealed. A senior MCD official said: “In extreme conditions – hot or cold, the elderly and children are especially vulnerable to dehydration, diseases like cholera, dysentery, jaundice and gastroenteritis that translate into casualties.”
“The power supply has not been regular but the situation is okay. We have power back-up,” claimed P.P. Singh, medical superintendent of the Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.
However, the Mayor said that back-up generators had been over-heating over the past few days. “This is not acceptable in hospitals where electricity is crucial for services.”