Facing flak for the inordinate delay in the commencement of the burn ward and intensive care unit (ICU) the administration of the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital is preparing to start the much awaited facility before the festival of Deepawali. The eight- bed burn ICU of the hospital has been ready since July this year but for unknown reasons the facility is yet to become operational. The principal of GDMC, Dr Ashutosh Sayana told The Pioneer that the burn ICU is ready and will be made operational soon. He said that two burn specialists and one super specialist (Dr Mohit Goyal) have been deployed in the ICU. Dr Sayana added that necessary equipment has been installed in the ICU and other infrastructure has also been provided for it. On the question of delay in the start of the facility, Dr Sayana said that the delay had occurred in appointment of other staff for the ICU. He said that eight nursing staff, two dressers and ten sanitation workers have now been deployed in the facility. The principal claimed that the burn ICU will become operational before the festival of Deepawali.

The statement of the principal assumes significance because there is no burn ICU in Dehradun city. The Dehradun district hospital (Coronation) has a burn ward but the ICU in it is non-operational due to transfer of the lone burn specialist to Karnprayag in Chamoli district. In absence of the burn ICU the relatives of the patients suffering from burn injuries are forced to shift the patient to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh or to the national capital. It is pertinent to mention here that preventing infection is absolutely necessary in saving the life of a burn patient. Transporting a burn patient long distances for treatment increases the chances of the infection spreading.