Hyderabad: With only one lift working in the Gandhi Hospital, swine flu-positive patients have to travel with other patients and staff members, sending all precautionary measures for a toss. As the swine flu ward is on the eighth floor, it is not possible to take patients via the ramp and the lift has to be used. There are three lifts for patients, but for the last 10 days, only one is functioning. In fact, of the 16 lifts in the five blocks of the hospital, hardly any are working properly.

A senior doctor said, “Since the outbreak of swine flu, we have been requesting the superintendent to keep one lift exclusively for the eighth floor as the swine flu ward is located there. But no one has acted so far. Instead, we have a new problem, every patient is taken up in a single lift.”

During operation hours in the morning, ward boys bring patients half-an-hour earlier so that they can reach the operation theatre on time. The lift is not stopped on the first, second and third floors and staff members, doctors and relatives have to climb the stairs.

Another senior doctor said, “The quotations for repairing the lift are too high. An estimate stated that it would cost Rs 10 lakh to repair each lift. The hospital development committee has not met for a year and there are only stop-gap arrangements made to start the lifts when the patients complain.” Superintendent Dr P. Dhairyawan said that the maintenance department had been instructed to look into the matter.