GMCH projects suffer long delays

Naina Mishra

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Chandigarh, February 25

Health infrastructural projects of the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, have suffered long delays ever since their conceptualisation three or four years back.

Considering physical progress is slow compared to the project timelines, UT Health Secretary Yashpal Garg has asked the UT Engineering Department to immediately increase the pace of works.

In 2019, the UT Administration had approved the construction of an emergency-cum-trauma centre and a mother and child care centre at the GMCH with an estimated cost of Rs52.77 crore and Rs38.06 crore, respectively.

We will hold another meeting on pending projects and set a deadline for these projects soon. —Yashpal Garg, UT Health Secretary

The construction of the 200-bed emergency-cum-trauma centre, which was to be completed within 18 months after the allotment of the work (by February 2022) is yet to see the light of day.

The Director Principal, GMCH-32, recently informed the UT Administration that the work had started and with an expenditure of Rs6.5 crore, the physical progress had only been 10 per cent.

As per the latest development, the client approval for the 348-bed mother and child care centre has been received. The Engineering Department will now provide final drawings along with public health and green building advices to the Architecture Wing of Chandigarh within 15 days on a priority basis.

At any given point, there are at least 350 patients admitted to the Emergency of the GMCH. With the construction of the two projects, the GMCH will get a major boost in healthcare facilities, which will benefit patients from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and other states.

The new emergency-cum-trauma centre will come up in Block A replacing the old Emergency, which will have to be demolished. The mother and child care centre will come up in the K block area of the hospital.

Besides, tenders have been invited by the Engineering Department for setting up an effluent-treatment plant at the GMCH-32. A committee has been constituted for sharing the scope of work of Advanced Infectious Diseases Centre with the Architecture Department.

Hostel Block to face further delays

In 2019, the UT Administration had given the green light for setting up a hostel on 6 acres in Sector 48, with 1,495 rooms for doctors, nursing staff and BSc students of the GMCH-32.

The Director Principal, GMCH-32, said the previously approved drawings provided for rooms to be shared by three students. Keeping in view the of issue of pandemic-like situation, the institute should go for single-occupancy rooms. The NMC guidelines have also been relaxed and a minimum of 60 per cent students are to be provided hostel facility instead of earlier norms of 80 per cent.

However, with single accommodation, the capacity will reduce to almost half which may not be appropriate in view of an acute scarcity and shortage of land.

Garg stated that the efforts should be made to provide hostel accommodation to a maximum of students irrespective of the relaxed norms because hostel accommodation was always a better option instead of leaving students to arrange for paying guest accommodations.