With Sunday’s torrential rains paralysing several parts of the city, the MGM Hospital in Parel lay practically dysfunctional on Monday. Water-logging in its electricity meter cabin, operation theatre and the intensive care unit (ICU), made the functioning impossible. Knee-deep water in the electricity cabin has stalled repair works, plunging the hospital into darkness. Adding to the misery was the fact that 103 patients in the hospital was in beds without food as the kitchen too lay inoperative due to water-logging. Given the grim situation at the hospital, its out patient department (OPD) will now be run outside the dean’s office.
In addition, many patients have already been shifted to the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Worli and some to KEM Hospital in Parel.
Dean Dr Nimish Shah said, “This is the first time in 20 years that we are experiencing this sort of water-logging, which has left the hospital completely paralysed. We are making alternate arrangements for patients and already shifted several of them to different hospitals.”
Repair works at the hospital will take another 15 days to resume. However, at present work is on to drain out water from the water-logged parts of the hospital using two pumps.
It is not the water alone that has jeopardised functioning of the hospital. The Centre decided to turn the hospital into a medical college hospital due to which there is new construction and repair work taking place since 2009. Consequently, there are a lot of haphazard constructions that has resulted in debris lying around and choking the drainage. All this has added to the current dismal situation,” said Dr Shah.