Taps missing from KEM OT?

Ten days after parts of an autoclave machine went missing from the hospital's Operating Theatre, another theft has robbed the under-renovation gynAecological ward of its taps The civic-run KEM Hospital seems to have turned into an open ground for petty thefts. But the thieves seem to be getting more and more innovative. It is no longer mobiles and money that is being looted.On Monday, taps from the recovery room of gynaecology department went missing. The department is presently under renovation.Thieves broke open the grill and decamped with foot-operated taps from the hospitalOn Monday morning the labourers working in the recovery room saw that the grill had been removed from the windowpane. Suspecting that an outsider had entered the recovery room at night, they checked the room to discover that the taps from the foot operated tap assembly were missing.u00a0A foot operated tap assembly is specifically designed for operation theatres (OT). The surgeon, before entering the OT, is expected to scrub and sterilise his hands using water from these taps. The theft has rendered the machine useless.As the room was under the supervision of a contractor, the hospital authorities have decided to charge the losses to the contractor when he hands over the room to the hospital authorities. However, the petty theft has once again raised questions about the security standards at the hospital.When MiD DAY visited the recovery room, the taps were nowhere in sight, and the grill had been removed. A man who identified himself as the supervisor said, On Monday morning our workers saw that the grill had been removed. When we checked the room, we found that the taps were not there.MiD DAY had recently carried a report about parts of an autoclave machine going missing from the OT (Surgical equipment goes missing from KEM OT, April 24). Thus this is the second instance of a petty theft within a span of ten days.EARLIER THEFTIn June 2010, security personnel at KEM nabbed thief Prakash Sharma, (23), a resident of Parel, red handed in the act of stealing a mobile phone.u00a0He confessed to having committed five such thefts at KEM Hospital earlier.The Other SideAshok Shetty, the engineer responsible for the maintenance of surgical equipment at the hospital, said civil contractor concerned had not brought the theft to his notice. When the contractor hands over the renovated room to us, we will check everything.u00a0If we find the taps missing, we will make the contractor pay for it. A security official said, When a part of the hospital premise is under renovation, we hand it over to the civil contractor, and don't interfere with operations till the work is completed.u00a0The contractor has deployed his own security in the room. Meanwhile, Dr Sanjay Oak, Dean of KEM Hospital was not available for comment even after repeated messages and phone calls from MiD DAY.