Docs hot and bothered over hospital AC

The Matara General Hospital yesterday refuted claims by doctors’ unions that the hospital administration had failed to conduct over 30 surgeries daily due to the failure to install a new air conditioning system, insisting that the hospital had followed the correct protocol.

One of the four surgical theatres of the hospital has remained closed since last week putting a stop to ENT, orthopaedic and facio-maxillary surgeries due to a lack of air conditioning which is required to prevent infection and disease in the surgical theatre.

Matara General Hospital Director Dr. Samanthi Samarakoon said that despite various claims by doctors’ unions, the surgical theatre was closed for the installation of air conditioning with the consultation of the ministry and technical and medical experts.

“This is a very normal procedure. We intend to open the theatre again but it may take up to one month. No patients will die because of this,” she said, adding that emergency surgeries contin- ued to be conducted at the hospital, while some patients who required surgery were being transferred to the Karapitiya Hospital.

However the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday charged that doctors were being asked to perform surgeries in the theatre despite there being no air conditioning. “We can’t take the risk of spreading infection. Doctors have refused to conduct surgery in this unit,” GMOA Spokesman Dr. Navin De Soysa said.

He charged that the surgery unit was shut down due to the incompetence of the hospital director and that hundreds of surgeries would be postponed by six months or more due to a long waiting list.

“The national budget allocates Rs.1.25 billion for healthcare, but we are unable to obtain any results due to inefficiency of this kind,” he charged.

The surgical theatre was closed for the installation of the air conditioning with the consultation of the ministry and technical and medical experts