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HT Impact: Sassoon’s TB department gets new space, more beds
HT had reported about the plight of patients, mostly critical tuberculosis (TB) cases, who had to share beds with relatives, including kids, at the previous cramped location
PUNE After running for more than 16 years at an old heritage building, the department of pulmonary medicine at Sassoon General Hospital that primarily handles respiratory diseases finally gets shifted to the ninth floor of the new building. HT had reported about the plight of patients, mostly critical tuberculosis (TB) cases, who had to share beds with relatives, including kids, at the previous cramped location.
The new space has extra beds and a respiratory ICU.
Dr Sanjay Gaikwad, head, department of pulmonary medicine, Sassoon General Hospital, said, “The earlier space accommodated about 25-30 beds for all kinds of respiratory diseases. Now, we have 72 beds, of which 12 are respiratory intermediate care units (RICU), 30 beds in male ward and 30 beds in female ward. The department also has bed equipment, nursing station, doctor’s duty room, procedure room, bedside labs and bedside teaching facilities. With the help of Dr Vinayak Kale, dean, BJ Medical College, the department has been located to the new place.”
The ninth floor of hospital’s new building will house other four departments, including orthopaedic, ophthalmology, ear-nose-throat and paediatric.
Dr Kale said, “Since the department also deals with respiratory diseases, it is important that there is enough isolation to protect other vulnerable patients. We have shifted patients to the new space.”
Dr Gaikwad said that in addition to more beds, the department also has isolation rooms to prevent hospital-induced infection among other patients and also space to isolate XDR (extensive drug resistance) and MDR TB (multidrug resistance) cases from normal TB cases. HT had reported that the department, functioning from a heritage building built in 1867, was awaiting upgrade for years.
