Tension broke out at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata after the ceiling of an operation theatre within the hospital premises collapsed on Thursday.
Fortunately, there was no casualty or injury since the operation theatre concerned was inoperative when the ceiling collapse took place and no one was there within the room.
RG Kar had been in the national headlines for the last few months, first because of the ghastly rape and murder of a junior woman doctor within the hospital premises in August this year and secondly because of the ongoing central agency probe on the massive and multi-financial irregularities there.
Now, a section of the doctors attached to the hospital are linking the ceiling collapse with the financial irregularities that took place during the tenure of Sandip Ghosh as Principal, and claiming that the collapse happened because of years of negligence in hospital infrastructure maintenance.
There are allegations against Ghosh that he used to get the infrastructure-related work at the hospital done by private outsourced agencies of his confidence bypassing the state Public Works Department (PWD).
“The condition of the operation theatre whose ceiling collapsed was pathetic for quite some time. Despite repeated requests made to the hospital authorities to carry out thorough repair and maintenance work, the latter neglected the issue. Fortunately, the ceiling collapse happened when the said operation theatre was not operative. Had the collapse taken place during any operations, it could have endangered the lives of the patients, doctors and nursing staff present there,” said a junior doctor attached to the hospital.
Another junior doctor said that apart from this particular operation theatre, the conditions of many other medical rooms in the surgery department of the hospital are quite pathetic. “Similar accidents in the future cannot be ruled out unless thorough repair and maintenance work is carried out immediately,” he added.