India, July 30 -- Concerns over the condition of Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital have surfaced after staff reported a ceiling collapse in the orthopaedics department and water leaking through the ceiling of an ophthalmology operation theatre. The ceiling incident occurred at around 11 am on Monday in a staff rest area, where debris and a section of the ceiling reportedly fell. No injuries were reported. The incidents come a week after a ceiling fan allegedly fell on a patient in the hospital's emergency ward, raising fresh concerns over patient and staff safety, as well as infection control in critical care areas. Photographs from the ophthalmology operation theatre showed buckets placed inside the room to collect rainwater dripping from the ceiling.
GTB Hospital's Additional Medical Superintendent and official spokesperson, Dr Parveen Kumar, acknowledged the hospital's ageing infrastructure but said the removal of loose plaster was a preventive measure rather than a structural failure. He said the hospital has been proactively addressing infrastructure-related challenges and that the government has initiated measures to strengthen emergency and trauma care services. According to the hospital, Ward 21 of the surgery department has recently been renovated by the Public Works Department, while renovation of the ophthalmology ward is nearing completion. Dr Kumar said patient care services have remained uninterrupted and preventive maintenance is being carried out in the interest of public safety. He added that the preventive removal of loose plaster should not be misconstrued as a structural collapse or building failure.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.