‘All our efforts are directed towards patients and their quality care’

Cleanliness is an area we have worked hard upon, and we have so many of the latest lab services, with most free of cost, and the latest lab services, with our digital X-Ray one of the best. Constant endeavours for improvement are needed to manage a district hospital that almost runs like a medical college. We have patients from different states coming to GMSH-16 to our gynae, paediatrics and medical OPDs. That speaks volumes for the institute. I worked here as an intern and house surgeon, and so was conversant with the gaps, and the effort has been to fill these.

Please tell us the projects that are close to your heart.

A long-needed facility, the Advanced Paediatric Centre at GMSH-16 was inaugurated this year and it was a proud moment for us, for we all had worked so hard to achieve this dream, taking care of every small detail here. A 32-bedded facility, the APC now delivers state-of-the-art specialised care, with a 12-bedded hybrid ICU unit comprising ventilator beds and high-dependency unit beds. The centre includes 20 oxygen-supported beds and has ECG, echocardiography and ultrasonography, all under one roof so that parents don’t have to go anywhere for these tests and their children get the best care. We have 24-hour services like blood transfusion, sample collection, nebulisation etc for critical patients, and this advanced centre has eased the burden on PGI. Also, the waiting hall for patients and attendants that we have on campus has eased their burden, as they now have a comfortable space to sit and rest in the cold, heat and rain, get clean washrooms, drinking water, and I feel these are essential services that everyone deserves. We have outsourced our kitchen and laundry services to save time and manpower, and have also started MRI services in a public-private mode, and the next step is to set up a cath lab. Infrastructure, drugs, and doctors are a priority, people must have faith in your systems and services.

What are the challenges you face?

Built in 1952 for a population of about five lakh, GMSH-16 now has patients being referred to in its various departments from across the region. Availability of manpower is always a struggle, as patient load is increasing tremendously, not only here, but also in our civil hospitals, dispensaries, and health and wellness centres.

We need to strengthen our HR. Health and education should be based on welfare and not profit, and I think our effort is to make GMSH-16 a perfect example of how a government set-up can be high quality. As healthcare professionals, what we need to do is put ourselves in the patient’s shoes.

The OPD numbers are about 3,000 patients from across the region, plus attendants. So that is a constant struggle, as we also run many camps and health programmes across the city. Space is also a constraint, for we cannot expand anymore, and we cannot shift any department to renovate it completely.

We have sent a proposal for a 500-bed hospital at Sarangpur, with an academic block for PG students and if approved, it will give us tremendous growth and take health care to the next level. Apart from improving health facilities and infrastructure on the periphery, the need of the hour is to have super-specialty services here at GMSH-16, starting with cardiology, nephrology and neurology. This will also decrease the hospital’s dependency on PGI.

Many areas of the hospital are being upgraded. What are these?

I feel the need of the hour is to bridge the gap between government and private hospitals in terms of infrastructure, facilities, amenities and patient care, and so a few areas in the hospital are being upgraded and renovated, with work on for the last two months on the renovation of the gynaecology private rooms.

The Emergency of the hospital is also being renovated for space, better placement of beds and modern amenities. The area caters to 250 to 300 patients daily, with a provision for 70 beds, and more make-shift ones created on trolleys and wheelchairs.

Better and more powerful lighting, oxygen supply to every bed, modern toilets, and restructuring of the entire area is on the cards so that patients can be given amenities like private hospitals. We have upgraded our arm centres – HCWs, dispensaries, and not just the patients, even doctors should feel proud of being here.

What are your priorities for the future?

Our core recipients are the patients, so the effort will be to make sure that their suffering is reduced with not only medicine, but also services.