Open house: How can rush at govt tertiary care hospitals, including PGI and GMCH-32, be managed?

To ensure proper health care to patients, the administration should recruit more doctors and other medical staff and improve the infrastructure at hospitals. This is the only way to tackle rush at government territory care hospitals.

Adish Sood, Amloh

QUESTION

Crumbling infrastructure in Zirakpur claimed a man’s life, who was electrocuted on a potholed road. What steps should the administration take to improve the situation and prevent such incidents in future?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com

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Open OPDs 24×7, run six-hour shifts

To manage rush at OPDs, the departments should be opened round the clock in six-hour shifts. The available staff should be allocated accordingly. This way, there will be no rush in the hospitals, parking lots and on roads as well. Public assets should be used judicially.

Ashok Kumar Goel, Panchkula

Start dept-wise registrations

Residents of the tricity have more faith in the PGI and the GMCH-32 and the cost of treatment too being affordable, rush of patients at the two hospitals remains heavy. Due to the rush, many patients get discouraged to visit these hospitals. To cope with the crowded OPDs, separate department-wise registrations may be done with more staff at all levels. There seems to be an acute shortage of doctors, which must be addressed soon.

NPS Sohal, Chandigarh

Construct more government hospitals

With the treatment at private Hospitals being expensive, patients throng government hospitals like the PGI, the GMSH in Sector 16 and the GMCH in Sector32. At these hospitals, the rush at registration counters is a big irritant for patients. Although the new PGl Director is devising ways and means to manage the rush at registration counters, the result is not that encouraging because the institute caters to a large number of patients not only from the tricity, but the entire North India. The healthcare can only become patient-friendly if more government hospitals offering affordable treatment come up in the region.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh

Improve infra, raise staff strength

The tertiary hospitals are equipped with advanced machinery and specialists. While the number of patients is increasing day by day at the PGI and the GMCH 32, the space in the Emergency wing and the number of doctors/staff remain the same. For years, the scene at the Emergency ward of the PGI has remained pathetic with patients lying in the corridors. It seems like an encroachment. The authorities concerned should increase the infrastructure and employ more doctors and staff to ease the situation. Attendants sleep in the verandahs of hospitals and even in the open space. They are exposed to weather woes. Sheds must be constructed where attendants can take proper rest at night.

MR Bhateja, Nayagaon

Hospitals must tie up with pvt facilities

The two government health institutes cater to patients from across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Western UP. As a result, the load on these hospitals is much more than their capacity. The rush can be reduced by tying up with some well-equipped private hospitals. A policy should be framed to make it mandatory for private hospitals to keep at least 20 per cent of the beds for patients under treatment at these two hospitals, who should be given treatment at subsidised rates. There is a six-month waiting period for MRI at the PGI. The problem can be addressed by roping in private labs.

Yash Khetarpal, Panchkula

Smoothen process for registration

It is imperative to control rush at hospitals to ensure proper healthcare to patients. Token system should be improved at the OPD registration windows. Rooms of doctors must be allotted at the time of registration so that patients take seats in front of the room of the doctor concerned and wait for their turn peacefully. This would save them of an avoidable harassment. Further, they should be allowed to visit another doctor or department to show report, if required, without getting registration done again. Decreased rush will also curb pick-pocketing. Minimum number of attendants should be allowed with each patient.

Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali

Run OPDs from civil hospitals, dispensaries

The rush at major government hospitals can be reduced by diverting OPD services to dispensaries or civil hospitals in various sectors of the city. Only patients requiring surgeries and major treatment should be kept at main hospitals. Online consultation facility can be helpful in minor cases. There is a need to recruit more medical staff and build more hospitals.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Treat only critical patients at PGI

There is no doubt that the PGI, being a premier health institute, should be catering only to patients with critical ailments. Primary treatment should be available at private and other government hospitals in the UT and neighbouring states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Those hospitals should be made self-sufficient to cater to patients with primary medical issues. Only serious patients requiring critical surgeries should be referred to the PGI. The cost of treatment has also to be kept under check in private hospitals, which is one of the major reasons for rush at the PGI. Also, far-off states like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan should be provided with more premier medical institutes so that patients from those states do not need to rush to the PGI or the GMCH-32.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Set up mohalla clinics for primary care

At present, the two hospitals are overcrowded with patients requiring primary, secondary and tertiary care. The need of the hour is to open mohalla clinics for patients needing primary care. This way, the patient load at the PGI and the GMCH could be reduced considerately and doctors could devote more time to secondary patients requiring swift and timely emergency care.

Col TBS Bedi (retd), Mohali

Show availability of beds online

The government should develop a joint online registration for OPDs at three major hospitals in the city – the PGI, the GMSH-16 and the GMCH-32 – so that maximum people could avail themselves of the facility. The data pertaining to admitted patients and bed availability should be provided online so that people can check it before going to any hospital. NGOs and people should come forward and donate stretchers and other equipment to the three hospitals.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Open hospital satellite centres

Satellite centres of the major hospitals should be built at different sites in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Only patients with emergency referrals signed by medical authorities of their places should be attended to at the PGI or the GMCH-32. Other patients should report to satellite centres. Online appointments and registrations should be strengthened and telemedicine should be taken up at a larger scale.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma

Start telemedicine to reduce rush at OPDs

The hospitals should resume telemedicine so that only genuine cases report physically at the OPDs. Also, doctors should not hesitate from referring non-serious cases to civil hospitals while the latter should be instructed to refer only serious cases to the PGI, the GMCH or the GMSH. Further, a week in a month or a day in a week should be dedicated only to outstation patients at OPDs. Residents too should act responsibly and visit nearest wellness centres for small issues.

Savita Kuthiala

Hire More staff, take steps to improve infra

There are a number of patients who have to visit government hospitals again as they do not get appointment or consultation during their first visit. More doctors have to be appointed to tackle this issue. The health infrastructure at the PGI and the GMCH-32 is insufficient, with the number of beds, chairs, stretchers, wash areas, etc, falling way short of requirement.

Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh

Increase strength of doctors, other staff

Lack of staff, including doctors, nurses, receptionists and executive members of managing teams, is a major reason for mismanagement which leads to rush at hospitals. More employees should be recruited. Secondly, the hospital buildings should also be expanded keeping in mind the growing population. Small local health care centres should be started for minor ailments.

Manveer Kaur

More multi-specialty hospitals required

It is seen that some departments in hospitals witness greater rush resulting in longer queues and waiting period. Apart from increasing strength of doctors and related infrastructure in such departments, it is imperative to set up a new muti-specialty hospital on the lines of the GMCH-32, which was established 30 years ago when the population of the city was 6.5 lakh as against the present 12 lakh.

RPS Chopra, Chandigarh

PGI has now become general hospital

The PGI was originally conceived as a referral institute. However, it is thronged with patients from all over the region and has become a general hospital over a period of time. At present, about 10,000 patients visit different OPDs every day besides about 400 patients visiting emergency. There is a need for limiting the number of patients at the PGI. This may be possible only, if PGI is declared a referral Institute. Dispensaries in different sectors should be upgraded to the level of a primary health care centre with sufficient manpower and infrastructure.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Referral system is the need of the hour

Since those belonging to economically weaker sections cannot afford treatment at private hospitals, more government hospitals should be set up. To end the rush of patients at the PGI, referral system is the need of the hour. Patients needing primary and secondary care should be sent to the GMCH-32 and the GMSH-16. Only those needing specialised surgical intervention and tertiary care should be referred to the PGI. All hospitals must be fully-equipped to provide immediate treatment to accident victims. Also, VIP culture should be abolished, owing to which other serious patients suffer a lot.

Dr Shruti K Chawla, Chandigarh

Further upgrade civil hospitals

Recently, the UT Administration had converted some dispensaries into full-fledged hospitals. Such facilities like the ones in Sector 22 and 45 should be upgraded further by appointing more staff. OPD timings may be increased to spread out the rush. Further, taking prior appointment may reduce the rush at hospitals, but it is not practicable for most of the patients who come from villages and are not computer-savvy.

Sqn Ldr MS Johar (retd), Chandigarh