Chandigarh: No consensus yet on site for mother & child care centre

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, July 3

Even as the UT Health Department is exploring the possibility of acquiring land in Sarangpur or elsewhere within the city to construct the 500-bed mother and child care centre, the architecture wing has opined that the centre should be located on the premises of Government Multi Speciality Hospital, Sector 16.

The administration earlier mulled over such a move, but failed to decide on establishing the facility at the GMSH-16 due to space constraints.

The department later tasked the Chief Architect of the UT Administration with conducting a comprehensive survey across the city to identify potential sites. Despite space constraints at the hospital, the Chief Architect believes the challenges associated with other land options such as the one in Sarangpur outweigh the benefits.

The Sarangpur land is currently with the Education Department, which poses logistical and administrative complications in acquiring the site. Further, if the centre is set up in Sarangpur, it would primarily cater to the peripheral population, limiting its accessibility for those in other parts of the city.

Besides, the Health Department is yet to provide a compelling rationale for disregarding the GMSH-16 and pursuing alternative land options. Originally planned in 2018, the mother and child care centre at GMSH-16 faced challenges due to lack of space at the existing building, which already houses gynecology and paediatric facilities. The ambitious project involves the construction of a seven-storey state-of-the-art building.

Estimated to cost over Rs 100 crore, the project aims at significantly enhancing maternal and child healthcare services in the region.

One of the primary hurdles in construction of mother and child block at GMSH-16 is the relocation of the existing gynecology facility to another hospital. Doctors at local government hospitals have repeatedly flagged concerns about the overwhelming patient load in labor rooms and mother and child wards across healthcare facilities in Chandigarh. Often more than one patient or newborn baby is accommodated on a single bed, underscoring the urgent need for a dedicated mother and child care centre.

The three Civil Hospitals as well as the GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 witness a high flow of patients. The GMSH-16 faces an additional burden of a high number of referrals from neighboring states for pregnant women.

Space constraints at GMSH-16

• UT Administration failed to decide on establishing dedicated mother and child care facility at GMSH-16 due to space constraints
• Health Dept, keen on Sarangpur site, tasked Chief Architect with conducting survey across city to identify potential sites
• The latter opines Sarangpur land currently with Education Dept, acquiring it involves logistical and administrative complications