Post-one week of the rain and flood within the southern districts, the well being crew of six members of Srivaikuntam Government Hospital who rescued greater than 30 sufferers shared their expertise.
Nithiya Rajkumar, physician at Srivakuntam GH, began her obligation on December 17 (Sunday) on the day when it poured. The workers had been busy with their routine work when somebody seen water leaking from the roof of the old hospital building.
Fearing the more severe, Dr. Nithiya ordered the workers to maneuver the sufferers to a brand new building on the identical premises. “As we were only six, we moved all patients and important equipment like Ultrasound Machine (USG) and registers to the first floor of the new building which was unoccupied,” she stated.
There was additionally energy fluctuation which made them panicky, contemplating the security of sufferers. By the tip of the day, the water entered the hospital and was slowly rising.
At round 2 a.m. on Monday, a bunch of 10 girls from close by Athinathapuram rushed to the hospital in search of refuge as their homes had gone beneath water. It was at that second that the hospital workers sensed the seriousness of the state of affairs exterior. But by then the cellular networks had been down and so they couldn’t contact officers for rescue.
As the hospital already had 30 sufferers – antenatal and postnatal – and as many attendants, Dr. Nithiya puzzled tips on how to proceed the therapy, serve meals and meet different wants. They managed somhow until dawn with the hope of getting assist in the morning. But there was no letup within the downpour which led too breaching of close by waterbodies. The water got here speeding in bringing down the hospital partitions and homes close by.
While witnessing such horrific scenes, a hospital employee, S. Esakkimuthu, 28, braving the downpour and broken roads, drove all the best way from his home, seven-km away, to report for obligation. Realising meals was their precedence, Mr. Esakkimuthu went by means of the waist-high water to a close-by store to get the provisions. “I picked up a bunch of bananas from an abandoned shop for the patients,” he stated.
The eatables had been shared amongst sufferers based mostly on their wants. In the meantime, rescue groups who had been shifting folks to security, introduced a snake chew sufferer. But the panicked physician and workers couldn’t deal with him because the anti-snake venom was saved within the fridge within the old building which was almost submerged.
The rescue crew had given him an air-filled tube to maneuver by means of the water. “With no option left, using the tube and mobile torch, I swam through the water to see the refrigerator floating. But thankfully, as the medicines were intact, I picked them up and returned to the new building safely,” he stated.
The folks stranded within the hospital witnessed water from the Tamirabharani river, about 150 metres away, gushing into the village. Nearby villagers sought refuge within the hospital all through the day. On Tuesday, with so many mouths to feed – women and men, young and old, Dr. Nithiya and her crew climbed atop the building to get the eye of helicopters which had been rescuing stranded folks in close by Srivaikuntam railway station.
“Using a green hospital bedsheet, we signaled the helicopters with an SOS message. Knowing it was a hospital, the rescue team threw milk packets and water bottles from the helicopter, but everything got damaged,” stated Mr. Esakkimuthu.
But the rescue crew got here again with bread loaves and milk powders which had been used to feed moms with new-born infants and youngsters.
As the water began receding, they obtained meals and different supplies by means of the reduction groups.
Recalling three days of sleepless work, Dr. Nithiya stated the six well being care employees, to maintain them awake and sane, consumed about three to 4 paracetamol tablets.
“It was a horrific experience to have led a team to save patients and ourselves from the engulfing flood water,” she stated.
The efforts of two hospital employees, two workers nurses and a cook dinner saved the lives of about 60 folks.
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