Despite repeated instances in which people have been injured by falling ceilings and building chunks, there has been no change in the building infrastructure at Hyderabad’s Osmania General Hospital. In the most recent instance, in the early hours of Thursday morning, the false ceiling in the post-operative area fell on two patients, causing them minor injuries. No casualties have been reported.
The two patients were lying down on their hospital beds when the false ceiling fell down. Visuals from the hospital show a gap in the ceiling left by the fallen pieces of plywood which were being used. A patient is sitting in his bed, with one of the fallen pieces from the ceiling placed on the empty bed next to him.
“It was a false ceiling, made of plywood, which fell down. We are looking into the issue, no deaths have been reported. The ceiling fell on the bed of two patients; both didn’t sustain any major injuries. They are doing alright,” stated Superintendent of the Hospital Dr B Nagender.
This is not the first time that such an incident is taking place at the hospital. Similar incidents have been reported from the hospital for years now. However, nothing has been done about it. Earlier, in September 2018, several junior doctors at the hospital drew attention to the poor infrastructure of the building by wearing helmets to the hospital. The Osmania Government Hospital Joint Action Committee (OGHJAC) had also taken to protesting in view of these safety issues. The strike went on for four months, and was called off only after then Health Minister Dr Laxma Reddy stated that a new structure would be built soon. However, this is yet to be done, even as accidents continue to take place.
Prior to that, in August 2018, two patients in the hospital were injured after a concrete block fell off the ceiling.
Earlier, several staff had also expressed growing concerns about the crumbling building, particularly with the monsoon season starting.