Space crunch at Ernakulam General Hospital hits functioning of psychiatric, de-addiction wards

The closure of the ‘unsafe’ building on the General Hospital Ernakulam campus in which the District Medical Office was functioning earlier has impacted patients requiring admission for psychiatric and de-addiction treatment at the government institution.

The authorities have not been able to admit patients into the psychiatry and de-addiction male ward, which was functioning on the ground floor of the building, after the structure was closed down more than a month ago because of its dilapidated condition.

“The 15-bed facility had catered to several persons who required admission for alcohol, ganja, and cannabis addiction. On average, around 20 to 22 persons were admitted to the ward monthly,” said Dr. Ajeesh Ramachandran, Consultant and Head of the Department of Psychiatry.

“With the facility remaining shut, we have no other option but to refer those requiring admission to the govt. medical college hospitals in Ernakulam and Kottayam. However, the outpatient services remain uninterrupted on the second floor of the old outpatient block,” he said.

With the in-patient facility currently unavailable, those who were unable to get admission in government medical colleges had to depend on private hospitals, paying the required fee, whereas they had been receiving services at the General Hospital free of cost.

Dr. Shahirsha R, Superintendent of the hospital, said that space crunch was a major hindrance in the efforts to allocate a place for the psychiatry ward. “We have been discussing various options, including setting up the ward in the old dialysis block, where maintenance work is progressing,” he said.

The demolition of the unsafe structures on the hospital campus has been hit by bureaucratic delays, which involve multi-level processes such as declaration of the structures as unfit for use, estimate preparation for demolition, and government approval to carry out the work.