Days after false ceiling collapse, plaster falls at MGM Hospital Warangal

Warangal: Ceiling plaster peeled off and fell in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) and physiotherapy departments of MGM Hospital in Warangal on Tuesday, less than two days after a portion of the false ceiling collapsed in the hospital’s Aarogyasri ward. 

According to the news reports, no patients or hospital staff were present in the affected areas when the plaster fell, averting a major accident. The incident occurred a day after Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr N Vani visited MGM Hospital and inspected the premises.  

Also Read:MGM Hospital Warangal ceiling collapse injures 5, including a patient

The back-to-back incidents have raised concerns among patients and attendants over their safety, particularly as the condition of the old hospital building has come under scrutiny. Peeling and damaged ceiling plaster have emerged as a safety concern in parts of the hospital.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that in a shocking incident, a portion of the false ceiling collapsed in the Aarogyasri ward of the state-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital in Warangal on Sunday morning, injuring a patient undergoing treatment for paralysis, two attendants and two sanitation workers.

MGM Hospital is one of the largest government hospitals serving northern Telangana. It caters to around 500-600 outpatients daily and has a 1,000-bed inpatient facility. Patients from villages across the erstwhile Warangal district depend on the hospital for treatment.

The condition of the hospital's infrastructure has also come under scrutiny as Warangal is being developed as a medical hub, with the state government constructing a super-speciality hospital at the Central Prison site.

Hospital officials did not immediately respond to queries about Tuesday’s incident. Police personnel were deployed at the hospital’s three main gates purportedly to prevent media personnel from entering the premises, reports TNIE.

Meanwhile, a scuffle broke out at the hospital after police allegedly stopped a former chief whip and BRS leader from entering the premises. Bhaskar said he had gone to meet patients injured in the recent ceiling collapse.

He alleged that a police staff member beat him in the abdomen and that he sustained injuries to his hand and leg.

According to TNIE, “It is not Praja Palana (people’s governance). The authorities are using their position to obstruct the opposition parties,” he said, demanding that restrictions on opposition leaders visiting patients at the hospital be lifted. The former MLA also alleged that the government had failed to carry out repairs at MGM Hospital for three years, resulting in deterioration of the roof and injuries to patients.

He further alleged that patients were being denied adequate diagnostic facilities at government hospitals. He questioned the hospital superintendent over the restrictions and sought details on the measures being taken to address the hospital’s infrastructure problems.

Later, Matwada police shifted him to a private hospital in Hanamkonda for treatment.

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