Panchkula: Made fully operational after a delay of nearly two years after its inauguration by Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, the 11-storey Mother and Childcare Hospital is still facing several infrastructural issues, troubling the patients and the staff.After a delay of one year, only OPDs were shifted here from the adjoining civil hospital last year, but now all other wings, including labour rooms, several operation theatres, wards, separate emergencies for pediatrics and gynecology along with ICUs have been made operational here.The shifting of these wings got inordinately delayed as the public works department (PWD) earlier could not procure the no-objection certificate from the fire safety department. Several critical jobs, which were needed to get the NOC, were incomplete. Following which, the PWD carried out fresh works with an additional budget. Now, the NOC has been procured, thus the entire hospital could finally be made operational.However, inconvenience for patients and staff is not over despite shifting to a spacious and advanced hospital building. Water supply is one of the chief issues dogging them. Patients said toilets are stinking due to no water supply. Even drinking water coolers have a water shortage problem.Despite a long delay in construction by the PWD, water arrangements could not be done. Now, the PWD is engaged with the public health department to provide the basic facility.Another issue of water leakage is there. Water is leaking from roofs from ACs in several areas, causing trouble to people. Some patients said lifts getting stuck is also an irritant here, delaying treatment.Hospital officials said the existing civil hospital building is also going for renovation. So, it was another reason to shift to the new one otherwise renovation could not have been possible. “These problems had to come even if we waited more. These will get resolved only after we shift there and get them resolved alongside,” said an official.When contacted, civil surgeon Dr Mukta Kumar, she told TOI, “After shifting, there are some issues, which have been raised with the PWD. They are working on it. Hopefully, they are resolved soon so that people do not face inconvenience anymore.”With the addition of 200 more beds at the 7+3 (hospital floors plus parking lots) storey hospital, the wing will have a total of 500 beds. Of the new beds, 100 are designated for gynaecology and 100 for paediatrics.
