Three weeks after mishap, Lok Bandhu to resume major surgeries Monday

Lok Bandhu Hospital here will be resuming major surgeries at a temporary facility set up on the first floor of the building from Monday, hospital officials confirmed, adding a four-bed intensive care unit (ICU) was likely to be set up on the same floor shortly after.

The hospital’s operation theatre (OT), along with ICU and female medicine wards, bore extensive damage after a major fire ripped through the second floor on April 14. All patients were evacuated safely from the premises.

Chief medical superintendent Dr Rajeev Dixit said: “The OT was originally on the first floor, but had to be shifted to the second as the amenities did not meet certain hospital standards. We’ll have to go back to the earlier space until the renovations are complete.” He added 10-15 daily surgeries would still be carried out at the hospital as the temporary OT would be equipped with two surgery tables.

“First, pending cases will be looked after. Then, new cases will be taken. Until then, the new cases will be referred to other government hospitals,” he noted.

As for the makeshift ICU ward, oxygen ports and ventilator facilities must be added to the room, only after which critical care patients could be accommodated there, Dr Dixit added. The actual ICU ward had 10-15 beds.

Meanwhile, the renovations were still in the estimation and approval phase, even as the reports of the two probe teams on the mishap were still awaited. The teams, which had blamed the incident on human error, were said to be still finalising other aspects of the report before submission to authorities.