A flooding situation at two recently-inaugurated Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centres in Telangana prompted authorities to shift patients to safety around Tuesday midnight. Over 100 patients from MCH Centre in Mancherial were shifted to the Government General Hospital in the district. Three others at the Manthani centre in Pedapalli were moved to a community health facility.
The two centres had been inaugurated in the past two months.
At Mancherial, the MCH centre is located around 300 meters from the Godavari. Due to excess rains, water from the river surrounded the health facility. Over 100 patients including pregnant women, new mothers along with their newborns and even young children admitted to the hospital were shifted to Government General Hospital, said the MCH superintendent P. Harishchandra.
Though the facility had been constructed at a higher level, water had reached the steps on Wednesday morning.
It was learnt that patients were evacuated when a thin layer of water covered the road leading to the health facility. Healthcare professionals from the hospital expressed concern about possibility of floods in the coming years in the event of excess or incessant rains.
“A health facility is built to last for several decades. Similar floods could be witnessed whenever excess rains are received. A solution is needed. There were intense discussions about the location of MCH centre before it was constructed here,” said a healthcare professional at the hospital.
In case of the Manthani centre, three patients were shifted as excess rainwater flooded the facility. Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad district officer Mandala Vasudeva Reddy said construction of a compound wall would address the issue. Along with patients, some of the equipment too was shifted.
