Sewerage blocked, Karnal Civil Hospital OT closed

Parveen Arora

Karnal, December 21

Blocked sewerage of the Karnal Civil Hospital forced the authorities to close the operation theatre (OT), resulting in inconvenience to patients, who were given appointments for surgeries. Patients with an emergency were referred, while patients with elective surgeries were given the next date.

As per sources, seven caesarean cases have been referred to the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College (KCGMC), while seven elective surgeries have been postponed. The situation can remain the same for another couple of days, due to which more surgeries may get affected.

To be functional by Saturday

The sewer blockage has been cleared. Now, fumigation will be done. A sample for culture test will be sent for the confirmation of sterilisation. We are hopeful that the operation theatre will be functional on Saturday. —Dr Piyush Sharma, Principal medical officer

As per the information, sewer water entered the operation theatre washing area after blockage in the pipeline. The sewer water spread stink and filth in the OT complex on Tuesday evening after which the facility was closed and all elective and emergency surgeries were either postponed or referred. The staff was deployed to clean the pipeline on Wednesday. The pipeline was cleaned by the evening. As per the authorities, now the sterilisation and fumigation process would be undertaken, along with culture testing of the OT, after which surgeries can be performed here.

“My surgery was scheduled for today. When I came here, I was informed that my surgery has been postponed as the operation theatre has been closed,” said a patient.

Similar problem was faced by other patients, who had to return without surgery.

Dr Piyush Sharma, Principal Medical Officer (PMO), said the sewer line was old due to which the problem occured. “The blockage has been cleared and fumigation will be done. A sample for culture test will be sent for the confirmation of sterilisation, keeping in view the safety of patients. We are hopeful that the operation theatre will be functional on Saturday.”