Patients Advised to Seek Treatment at District Facilities Amid Heavy Rainfall Disruption
Gangtok, May 20—In a major disruption to critical healthcare services, the state-run STNM Hospital in Gangtok, Sikkim, has temporarily suspended its dialysis operations due to water contamination caused by continuous rainfall in the region.According to hospital authorities, the reverse osmosis (RO) purifying system that powers the dialysis unit has malfunctioned due to contaminated water. The services were halted on Monday, and restoration is expected to take at least one week.
A public notice issued by STNM Hospital stated, "Despite efforts made, the engineers have not been able to restore it and have requested up to one week to make the system operational again." Engineers have assessed the damage but require additional time to fully repair the system and resume the life-saving service.
This sudden halt in services has significantly impacted patients suffering from kidney ailments, many of whom travel long distances from remote parts of the state to access dialysis at STNM, Sikkim’s premier medical facility.
In light of the situation, the hospital has advised patients to seek care at other district health facilities where dialysis units are operational. However, the lack of a contingency plan for such essential services has drawn criticism from patient families, who have raised concerns about the hospital’s preparedness and backup infrastructure.
The hospital administration has extended an apology for the inconvenience caused and assured the public that immediate updates will be issued once services resume.
As heavy rains continue to affect infrastructure in the region, the incident highlights the need for robust emergency protocols in critical healthcare systems.
