Chandigarh: To meet rush, PGI doctors told to reach OPDs on time

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, March 22

In view of the burgeoning patient influx, which has surpassed 10,000 individuals daily at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), faculty members have been asked to adhere to their designated out-patient department (OPD) schedules punctually.

Director stresses commitment

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Our faculty is overburdened with excessive workload but we have to ensure that we start in time so that patients don’t have to wait in OPDs. We want to emphasise our commitment to providing our services to our patients. — Prof Vivek Lal, PGI Director

The PGI Director, Prof Vivek Lal, has stressed the critical importance of timely attendance, saying that the faculty members must be present at their respective OPDs no later than 9:15 am. This mandate applies regardless of any concurrent ward rounds of the faculty concerned.

There have been instances where doctors failed to report to OPDs on time, making patients to waiting for over two hours.

Over the past two decades, the Endocrine OPD has witnessed an increase in footfall from 4,000-5,000 per month in 2000 to 10,000-12,000 per month in 2019. Similarly, outpatient visits in the Gastroenterology Department has soared from 8,640 patients in 1996 to 57,287 per year in 2019.