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Lucknow: Battling ailments and bone-chilling cold
Broken window panes let cold air into the wards, while shelter homes are packed to capacity.
It is a double whammy for patients admitted to government hospitals, with the mercury nosediving and broken window panes letting in draughts of cold air into the wards.
Government hospitals across the city are bursting at the seams with patients and so are the shelter homes. As a large number of patients come from other cities, there is usually more than one attendant with each patient. Staying around the hospital is a tough job for attendants, particularly in the evening, because only one attendant is allowed to stay inside with each patient and the shelter homes have limited capacity.
As the icy wind enters through the open windows, attendants put up plastic sheets and even bed sheets for cover. Several of them have complained with the medical staff to get the broken window panes repaired.
“During the day it’s fine but as the sunlight fades, the temperature dips further and at times even the lightest wind troubles the patient. Hence we make sure the window is fully covered,” said an attendant in a government hospital. Nothing, however, can be done for the vents near the ceiling.
The inconvenience has increased since December 28, as fog has been troubling people in the state capital. As the sun is hardly seen during the day, the maximum temperature for the past three day is keeping low. On Friday, Lucknow recorded a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature touched only 11.7 degrees Celsius.
WORK STARTED
Hospitals have geared up to make the stay of patients comfortable but as the cold wave has been going on for over a week, the step comes a bit late.
“Two days ago, we installed halogen heaters in all the wards to bring the temperature to a comfortable level,” said Dr Rajeev Lochan, director of Balrampur Hospital. He said that apart from routine blankets for patients, work to repair broken window panes and panels had also begun and about 90% of the work was done.
The Balrampur Hospital has three shelter homes for attendants and two have been renovated with halogen warmers installed.
At the Civil Hospital, all new buildings have air conditioners with dual mode. They give hot air in winter and cold in summer.
“We have dual mode air conditioners in private wards, surgical male and female wards and pathology and have got permission to install such equipment in all wards where we shall need air conditioners,” said hospital superintendent Dr Ashutosh Dubey.
He said that heaters were a risk as often due to misuse by patients, incidents of fire were reported from wards.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR PATIENTS TO STAY WARM?
Cold wind can be a hazard for patients undergoing treatment in hospitals as it can cause hypothermia to lower the heart rate. “If the temperature rises, the pulse rate will also rise and if the body temperature falls due to external causes, the heart rate will also fall , which is not good for metabolism,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, an expert in geriatric medicine and founder of Aastha Geriatric Hospital.
He said proper body temperature was also important for proper functioning of vital organs such as kidney, liver, heart, brain and lungs. “Too much exposure to cold wind can even cause a cold stroke just as hot winds cause heat stroke,” he said.
