Doctors' salaries were stopped to influence MCD polls: Delhi Dy CM Sisodia

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged on Saturday that doctors' salaries and government projects were unlawfully stalled in order to influence the MCD polls, but asserted that these actions will not obstruct the public welfare work of the Arvind Kejriwal-led dispensation.

Sisodia inaugurated a new casualty and emergency and labour room in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology in the MCH (maternity and child health) block, along with upgraded oxygen facilities, at the state-run Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital here.

"The Delhi government's health department has been working round the clock to ensure that the people of the national capital get the best of world-class health facilities at the hospitals run by the city government, which is a priority of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi's health model has received acclamation the world over. Upgrading our hospitals is just another effort to make our health model more efficient and sustainable," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said.

 

He said the new casualty and emergency and labour room in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the MCH block of the GTB Hospital will ensure that pregnant women, mothers and children get swift and quality emergency treatment.

The old hospital building had three emergency areas of gynaecology in one ward, which led to severe crowding and increased the risk of infection. These new facilities in the MCH block will decongest the labour rooms in the obstetrics and gynaecology department.

"In the MCH block, the three emergency areas of gynaecology casualty, septic labour room (SRL) and labour room I (RLI) will be separate. In the previous section, all these areas had a total of 22 beds. With this move, we are adding 20 labour beds, one delivery room and an operating room in each section," Sisodia said.

An additional block with 1,912 beds is being constructed at the hospital, he added.

The deputy chief minister said irrespective of conspiracies, the Delhi government will never stop working for education, health and the cause of public welfare.

"To influence the MCD polls, the salaries of doctors and medical staff were stopped and projects were unlawfully stalled. But I assure the people that even if we lose our lives, we will not let the work being done for the welfare of our citizens be obstructed at any cost," he asserted.

The AAP won 134 of the 250 wards in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls held in December, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 104 wards.

The gynaecology department at the GTB Hospital currently caters to a heavy workload, which is increasing every day. "The delivery rate is 20,000-22,000 per annum with a 150-200 per cent bed occupancy in labour rooms and the footfall in gynaecology casualty is 100-150 patients per day on an average. Thus, shifting to the MCH was the need of the hour," Sisodia said.

The hospital currently has 1,500 operational beds (including floating beds). In view of a rise in the demand for medical oxygen at the hospital, the newly-upgraded facilities for oxygen supply were also inaugurated.

This facility has a PSA capacity of 3,000 LPM and an LMO capacity of 53 kilo litres. It will also facilitate an LMO buffer tank of 113 KL for state use.

With the upgraded oxygen facilities, the hospital now has a direct medical gas pipeline for 1,069 beds. Earlier, only 750 beds were connected to the medical gas pipelines directly.

"Situations like COVID-19 have taught us to prepare in advance for each and every scenario. This oxygen plant will not only provide support to the GTB Hospital, but will also have an LMO buffer tank of 113 KL for state use," Sisodia said.