Delhi hospitals alter patient menus, look at ways to conserve gas

Besides cooking purposes, hospitals also use LPG for operating incinerators used for the safe disposal of biomedical waste, as well as for laundry operations, boilers to heat water and sterilisation equipment

Both government-run and private hospitals across the city are overhauling their kitchen operations as a worsening LPG shortage forces them to tweak menus and adopt alternative cooking methods, hospital managements said.

At AIIMS, an official in charge of diet and kitchen operations said the hospital has also begun reviewing its cooking methods. (HT Photo/representational image)

Hospitals also use LPG for operating incinerators used for the safe disposal of biomedical waste, as well as for laundry operations, boilers to heat water and sterilisation equipment. While most hospitals in the city have piped natural gas (PNG) connections, some still rely on LPG cylinders for certain operations.

An official from Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital said, “As of now, the hospital has not shut down any of its operations, but keeping the ongoing crisis in mind, we have started making arrangements to reduce our LPG consumption so that we can keep all our operations running smoothly for a longer time.”

“We have received an official advisory from IGL regarding reducing our consumption, following which we have started taking these steps,” the official added.

“Following this, we have made changes to our menu for patients. Evening snacks now include items that require less cooking, such as pre-made sandwiches. For tea, we have completely switched to electric kettles. For the main menu, we are also opting for electric heating methods to cook rice. We are brainstorming ways to keep the menu healthy for patients while still reducing heat consumption,” the GTB hospital official said.

At AIIMS, an official in charge of diet and kitchen operations said the hospital has also begun reviewing its cooking methods.

“We have been asked to provide inputs on new methods that can be adopted in the kitchen to reduce heat consumption,” the official said.

Dr Harpreet Kaur, medical superintendent at Aakash Healthcare hospital, said, “We have made changes in both our kitchen and canteen operations. In our kitchen, we have switched to electric stoves for cooking many items. We are also exploring options to start making rotis with electric machines to reduce heat consumption.

“Further, in our canteen we have stopped all tandoor items for now, which used to be very popular among patients, but at this point there is full cooperation from everyone. We are also working on revising our diet menus without compromising patient care. These are all the methods we are implementing so that patient care is not affected.”

Officials at GB Pant Hospital said they have made similar changes, while several private hospitals across the city said they are also adopting alternative cooking methods to reduce LPG consumption.