PGI panel endorses hiring more faculty, infra upgrade

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 21

In the Standing Finance Committee (SFC) meeting of PGIMER held on Wednesday at New Delhi, several key initiatives were endorsed, which aim at enhancing the development and operational efficiency of the premier institution and its satellite centres.

The meeting was chaired by Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary (Health), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. “All the agendas taken up by PGI were received well and none were refused while there are few on which SFC has made recommendations,” said Pankaj Rai, Deputy Director (Administration), PGIMER. The key highlights from the 130th SFC meeting included discussions on the establishment of regular faculty and non-faculty positions at PGIMER and its satellite centres in Sangrur, Ferozepur (Punjab) and Una (Himachal Pradesh). The committee recommended expanding DM/MCh seats across various courses to ensure the institution’s continued academic excellence.

Major initiatives

• Expansion of academic excellence: New faculty and non-faculty positions to support academic growth at PGIMER and its satellite centres recommended
• Infrastructure upgrades: Proposals for IT hardware upgrades and cyber-security frameworks discussed and recommended with certain observations
• Historical initiatives: Establishment of a medical museum to preserve historical artefacts for research and educational purposes commended
• Enhanced safety measures: Engineering upgrades aimed at improving fire safety endorsed for the institution

The committee also reviewed numerous proposals for upgrading IT infrastructure, including hardware modernisation, cyber security enhancements and the establishment of a centralised data centre to facilitate the implementation of HIS 2.0. Upgrades to engineering services focused on fire safety were discussed to bolster the institution’s operational safety.

The SFC also commended PGIMER’s newly created museum and Sarathi project. The latter is designed to enhance the patient experience through improved navigation and queue management. The museum, on the other hand, showcases historical medical artefacts and equipment, making it a valuable resource for education and research. A comprehensive report showcased the project’s success, revealing significant reduction in the non-clinical workload for hospital staff and positive patient feedback, leading to increased satisfaction ratings. The analysis indicated that approximately 42% of first-time visitors utilised Sarathi services, significantly reducing their average wait time from 4.2 hours to 2.8 hours.

The committee suggested the necessity of adopting the recommendations from the recent impact analysis report to further build on success of project Sarathi. PGI Director Prof Vivek Lal stated, “We are eager to implement the recommendations made in SFC meeting to sustain this momentum.”

On the sidelines of the SFC meeting, Meeta Rajivlochan, Secretary, Youth Services and Sports (YSS), Government of India, also praised the impact analysis during a meeting with Pankaj Rai, Deputy Director (Administration) of PGI. Following Rajivlochan’s visit to PGI on September 24, the PGI Director commissioned a post-impact study, which revealed improvement in patient-wait times and overall hospital experiences.

Rajivlochan emphasised the importance of institutionalising these best practices within the National Service Scheme (NSS) curriculum.

A separate meeting of the Monitoring Committee will be convened to establish a timeline for implementing key recommendations made by SFC.