Budget of Rs 6 crore sought from Chandigarh admn: Evening OPDs in the offing at GMSH-16

The infrastructure for the evening OPDs is in place at GMSH-16, but there is no provision for staff and doctors to run these OPDs. As there is a shortage of doctors and staff to run OPDs from 4 pm to 8 pm, a budget of Rs 6 crore was sent to the UT Administration to recruit doctors and other staff.

It has been proposed that in the first phase, the OPD will function at the GMSH-16 and then it can be extended to the Civil Hospital in Sector 22 and Mani Majra. Currently, the OPD operates from 8 am to 2 pm, with the daily OPD numbers of GMSH-16 about 3,500 patients plus their attendants. The emergency services at the GMSH-16 also witnessed a steady increase with an average of 400 patients, which has almost doubled in the current season with dengue and viral fevers cases doubling.

The 500-bed district hospital has referral cases from across the region, with the highest being about 350 to 400 in the gynaecology department, and has been facing a shortage of doctors for the past several years.

Although the Health Department appoints doctors from Punjab, Haryana and other states on deputation, the recent audit report of GMSH-16 shows out of 721 sanctioned posts, only 476 posts are filled by regular employees, and 245 posts (33.98 per cent) are lying vacant. Staff shortage resulted in the overburdening of the existing manpower, and also hampered the smooth functioning and overall efficiency and performance of the departments. Built in 1952 for a population of about five lakhs, the district hospital according to Dr Suman Singh, Director of Health Services, now has patients being referred to its various departments from across the region.

“We are a district hospital, but work like a medical college. We would be very happy to start evening OPDs, once we have the requisite manpower to give the best services to patients,” says Dr. Singh.

Despite staff shortage, GMSH-16 handles delivery cases from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. In 2022, 19,000 deliveries took place in the hospital, of these 9,000 patients were from other states.

“As we do not refuse any patient, we have been attending a large number of referral cases,” adds Dr Singh.
“Apart from staff, there is a shortage of space with 20 beds in the labour room. Often, we adjust two patients on one bed. Apart from improving health facilities and infrastructure, on the periphery, the need of the hour,” adds Dr Singh, “is to have super speciality services at GMSH-16, starting with cardiology, nephrology and neurology. A proposal for a super speciality block here has been sent to the Administration.”