Dry taps hit kidney patients

Dry taps hit kidney patients

Preetu Nair, TNN

PANAJI: With taps running dry from Wednesday evening at the new 450-bed block of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, patients, especially those
requiring dialysis, have been put to major hardship.

The block houses the medicine, urology, neurology, paediatrics, dermatology and VD, nephrology and surgical gasteroentology wards and the ICCU, CCU, MICU.

On Thursday, several renal failure patients in need of dialysis were seen waiting for their appointments that never materialised, even as staff at the kidney unit were calling up other patients to cancel afternoon appointments.
Doctors were forced to send back patients with dialysis appointments, directing those with emergency needs to private hospitals. While those who could afford did go to private clinics, those who weren’t able to shell out the Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per session have been returning to the GMC in desperation.

GMC medical superintendent Dr Rajan Kunkolienkar admitted the problem existed and said, “While water requirement at GMC has increased, quantity of water supplied has not. Our water requirement is about 1000 cubic mts and we have asked for more water.”

PWD minister Churchill Alemao, however, said the shortage was due to internal distribution. “There is a water shortage in the new GMC ward and I have sent my men to sort out the problem. It is more of an internal problem of GMC administration.”

An official from Frischmann Prabhu (I) Pvt Ltd, project management consultant for the block, though blamed PWD for the problem. He said, “Though the capacity of the tank at GMC is about 1200 cubic mts, only 300 cubic mts water is filled daily. The new ward alone requires 120 to 130 cubic mts water daily.”

GMC staff say that this is not a new problem. “Today is no exception. For the last 15 days there has been no water in the wards in the evening. The toilets stink and from Wednesday evening, it has been really bad. There is no water in the bathroom or even water to drink,” said a housekeeping staff at GMC.

Patients are being forced to purchase packaged water to drink as well as for washing. “We bought 5-6 water bottles in the morning as there is no water to drink or wash,” said a woman whose son is admitted in the medicine ward with diabetes

1 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
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