Even if building declared safe, Osmania General Hospital to shift patients

Hyderabad: Osmania General Hospital in-patients will be shifted as per schedule even if the building is declared to be safe, senior doctors said on Tuesday.

Hospital superintendent Dr Raghu Ram and medical and health director Dr M. Ramani visited the facility at Petlaburj to ensure that two departments could be shifted there. A senior doctor said, “The medical and surgical department will be adjusted in these blocks. The orthopedic and other departments will be managed in the OPD.”

The doctors have been trying to appease their colleagues by asking questions like “are you for better healthcare facilities or for endangering patients’ life”? This is being done to find out if majority want to shift.

Dr M. Viresham, president of the Telangana Government Doctors Association, said, “The shifting of patients has to be done as the facilities there are not up to the mark. Given these conditions, shifting is a reality and it will happen slowly. But we are clear that we do not want to endanger the lives of patients, doctors and medical staff by continuing to work in the hospital.”

The doctors do not want to talk about the building as they have received a lot of criticism from the public and are hence concentrating on the improvement of healthcare facilities.