Water seeps into Chromepet hospital; essential services shifted to first floor

Chennai: Beds were soaked, desks lay overturned and water filled the wards as nurses scrambled to pack documents into cartons and staff fought to block the flooding using sandbags. Patients and visitors rushed to evacuate the ground floor and stray dogs curled up on damp mattresses. This was what Saturday morning looked like at Tambaram Govt Hospital in Chromepet as cyclone Fengal brough heavy rain to the city. Among those at the hospital were two pregnant women, including Suganya M's daughter, who came from Thiruneermalai for her delivery. "Flooding made everything hard. It was cold, and I couldn't even step out to get food for my family," Suganya said, watching staff wade through knee-deep water in the submerged corridors."Essential services were shifted to the first floor as part of cyclone preparedness on Friday. We discharged 55 patients on Saturday, admitted four new cases, and performed three surgeries," said hospital dean Dr C Palanivel. Patients will be referred to other hospitals including Rajiv Gandhi Govt General Hospitals in case of power cuts, he added.Pallavaram MLA I Karunanidhi, who inspected the hospital, attributed the flooding to inadequate drainage infrastructure. "This is a low-lying area, and the stormwater drains constructed by the highways department are overwhelmed during heavy rains, causing this annual ordeal," he said.Health secretary Supriya Sahu also visited the hospital said a 300-bedded hospital, under construction in the vicinity at a cost of 110 crore, will be operational early next year to provide a permanent solution, she said. Meanwhile, residents said waterlogging on the GST Road and other access roads made it near impossible for patients to reach the hospital. Ujjwal Dinakaran, a resident of Chromepet said, "The approach roads are flooded every monsoon, making it challenging for those who need urgent care."