Yet another case of lift stalling in the Sassoon hospital has highlighted the apathy of the authorities towards relatives and visitors.
Early on Sunday, fire brigade officials and lift-maintenance staff rescued four people who were trapped in the lift of the state-run tertiary hospital for nearly half-an-hour.
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Last year, MiD DAY had reported various mishaps that took place due to the stalling of lifts in the hospital. Officials from Sassoon also claim that lifts are of bad quality and unavailability of the liftman leads to abuse of lifts. However, hospital administration is turning a blind eye to the issue at hand and instead claims to have appointed adequate lift operators and carrying out regular maintenance of the lift.
‘Elevatedd’ woes: Relatives of those admitted wait outside a lift at Sassoon Hospital. The lifts are said to be sub-standard and cases of them stalling are rising
On Sunday, the lift stalled between ground floor and first floor. “We were informed around 3 am that a few people were stuck in the lift at the hospital. We reached Sassoon within a few minutes and rescued four people,” said Vijay Bhilare, a fire brigade official.
Officials from the fire brigade went to the motor room, adjusted the breaks of the lift and brought it down to the ground floor.
“We came to know about the lift problem and our lift maintenance person reached at the spot and rescued those trapped,” said Doctor D G Kulkarni, medical superintendent of Sassoon general hospital. He also added that the problem occurred due to some technical reason as the lift is being used by many people. “We also run alternate lifts so that the load can get distributed. Other lifts are made available in case of any technical problems.”
According to sources, lift operators have been appointed but they are seldom on duty. This results in improper use of lifts by relatives and visitors. Last November, MiD DAY had published a story on a woman who had to deliver her baby in an auto due to lack of stretchers in the hospital and then had gotten stuck in the elevator for around 45 minutes.
Going up!
There are four elevators in the main building premises. Two for wards, one for OPD and one for doctors and officials. One more lift is being constructed near the two ward-lifts for carrying food during meal times. Relatives and visitors can use this lift for the rest of the day.
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