ICU unit of MKCG Medical college closed in Berhampur

MKCG Medical College and Hospital here closed its intensive care unit (ICU), 10 special cabins and shifted patients from the newborn special care unit (NBSCU) after engineers declared these portions of the indoors facility as unsafe.

The hospital authorities were advised against housing patients in these halls after a slab fell from the roof of the 4-bed ICU in the medicine department on Friday night, hospital sources said.

No one was hurt in the incident. Rainwater had also started leaking from the roof of NBSCU, following heavy rains in the last one week, engineers of the public works department (PWD) said.

"We have shifted 46 newborn babies from special care unit and at least six patients from ICU and special cabins," superintendent of the medical college A K Behera said.

The development, however, would not affect services at the hospital. The ICU and special cabins would be opened after the repair work, he added.

"The torrential rain lashing the town has hit the repair work," said executive engineer, PWD (Berhampur) Division-II, Manoranjan Tripathy.

The hospital authorities and PWD engineers are keeping a close watch on other rooms with leakage problem, he added.

Sources said the technical committee of the works department had inspected the old building last year and advised the government to construct a new structure for indoors facility.

The hospital authorities have sought Rs 15 crore to undertake repair works for the damages caused by cyclone Phailin, sources added.

PTI