Thirty-six-year-old Yasmeen Khan who travelled from Goregaon on Tuesday to get the ulcers on her feet operated at the Bombay Hospital was in for a disappointment after it was postponed to June 12 without prior notification. Many patients like Khan were upset after their appointments were rescheduled owing to a short circuit that triggered a minor fire follwed by a 24-hour power cut at the hospital on Monday. Though the power was partially restored on Tuesday,the emergency services were not fully operational. The Operation Theater (OT) was not functional till 7.30 pm on Tuesday. Harried authorities said they could keep only the emergency services operational through generators. We had to shut the OT and reschedule some appointments. But the Intensive Care Units (ICU) and the post operational patients were not affected by this accident at all, said Dr Dilip Singh Chauhan,officer on special duty and spokesperson for the hospital. He said all services,barring the OT,were functional by Tuesday evening. But relatives of patients in the ICU had a different story to tell. Bhagwat Lal,whose son is being treated for a serious leg injury in the ICU,said,Forget air conditioners,even the lights and fans went off for a while in the ICU. Imagine the condition of my boy in this heat. We have to climb the stairs as the elevators are still not functional. Others who traveled long distances for their appointments said they should have been informed about the rescheduling in advance. Rukmini Somakumar Nayar (62),who travelled from Kalyan to seek treatment in the Urology department,said,I did not get any call from the hospital. I came to know of the incident after I reached VT station and heard people talking about it. Even then,I had to go to the hospital to make a fresh appointment.
