At least six out of seven lifts at Swami Ramanand Teerth Medical College and Hospital in Maharashtra's Beed are inoperative, forcing relatives to help carry patients to wards on the upper floors of the facility, a senior official said today.
The medical college and hospital at Ambajogai has a bed capacity of 1,177, and is also a centre for treating COVID-19 patients from Beed and neighbouring districts, college dean Dr Shivaji Sukre said.
There are seven lifts in the entire premises, of which the administrative building has two, another wing has three and the medicine wing has two, the official added.
Of the two lifts in the medicine department, one has been repaired, while the other lift is still inoperative, he said, adding that the remaining five lifts have not been functioning due to various reasons since years.
"When the COVID-19 crisis began, infected patients were admitted in three wards on the lower floors. We shifted critical wards on upper floors. Things become difficult when critical patients have to be brought to lower floors to undergo tests," Mr Sukre said, adding relatives also need to help carry patients to upper floors on stretchers.
A fund of Rs 43 lakh has been sanctioned to repair the lift in the medicine department and tenders might be floated for this after the state Assembly session, the official said.
Despite follow ups with the Public Works Department (PWD) nothing much happened, and hence the medical facility will write to the district collector about the same, he said.
Despite repeated attempts, the official concerned from the PWD was unreachable for a comment.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Honda Announces 7-Year, Unlimited Kilometres Warranty On City, Elevate, Amaze Woman Flung Off Noida Elevated Road After Car Hits Scooter, Lands On Pillar Honda Elevate Apex Edition Launched At Rs 12.86 Lakh: Here's List Of Extra Features Why Donald Trump's Cabinet Choices Are Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights "Go Falcon. Go GSAT-20": SpaceX Successfully Launches Indian Satellite Dhaka, Islamabad Inch Closer With Historic Sea Link. How It Impacts India PM Modi Meets UK's Keir Starmer at G20, Discusses Tech, Energy, Security Ukraine Marks 1,000 Days Of Russian Invasion, Eyes End To War Next Year Ukraine Calls Biden's Decision To Supply Long-Range Missiles "Game Changer" Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.