Maintenance will be a big challenge: experts

Hyderabad: Even as the government is proposing to construct a 33-storeyed super specialty hospital in Warangal, experts in the medical field say that it is not construction, but maintenance will be a big challenge.

Experts said on Thursday that given the present circumstances of lack of availability of space, going for high-rise buildings was a good move. However, such structures should have all modern equipment for fire-fighting, elevators, fire escapes. There should be caution while selecting a plan for the building, they opined.

Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Hyderabad, director GVS Murthy said "multi-storeyed buildings are the new norm. Many hospitals in the US are around 40 storeys tall because by going vertical, construction costs will decrease compared to going horizontal because foundations would have to be laid. In case of vertical mode, more storeyes can be added on one foundation."

However, he pointed out that there are some challenges with high rise buildings. "There should not be open spaces. Anybody can jump from top in suicide attempts. This will be in the case of psychiatric patients and persons with depression, specially in the Mental Health department," said Murthy. "Generally, in super specialty hospitals half of the space is occupied by diagnostic wing and 20 per cent is used for administration."

Some experts favoured adequate safety mechanisms in place for high-rise buildings. "There should be a good number of lifts, fire escapes. You can't depend upon only one lift. There should be at least eight lifts, fighting equipment. Regular check-ups should be taken up following strict protocols. I don't know how strict the protocols will be in the government hospitals, said Murthy.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) Hyderabad president Dr JA Jayalal said that there should be a separate fire safety lift (secondary level) apart from the regular sprinklers. "There will be no problem if there are good lifts. In super-speciality hospitals the top floors are used for surgical, administrative offices and lower floors for patient wards. The only concern would be treatment of bio-medical waste and fire safety."