PGI to shift neurology & neurosurgery OPDs to Advanced Neuroscience Centre from April 20

The OPD timings and schedule will remain unchanged. Neurology OPDs will function on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, along with a Special Clinic on Thursday (11.30 am to 1 pm). Neurosurgery OPDs will continue on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with general OPD timings from 8 am to 11 am. Patients and attendants can access the Advanced Neurosciences Centre through Gate No. 3 of PGI, Chandigarh. Necessary arrangements have been made to guide visitors and ensure a smooth transition.

The six-storey Neurosciences Centre has a capacity of around 300 beds and will house neurology and neurosurgery services under one roof. The centre is expected to benefit not only patients from Chandigarh but also those from across north India, where the patient load for neurological disorders continues to rise sharply. As per PGIMER data, the number of patients visiting the neurology OPD has increased significantly. While 44,862 patients were registered in 2021, the number rose to 68,457 in 2022 and further to 82,587 in 2023, highlighting the growing demand for specialised neurological care.

For enhanced patient care, neuro-critical care and emergency neurology services will be provided at the centre. The Neurology Department will also run independent state-of-the-art 24-hour emergency services for which 15 beds have been planned.

Among the new services, an autonomic laboratory will be available here, essential for the proper management of patients suffering from peripheral nervous system disorders. Currently, there is no autonomic function test laboratory available in any of the premier institutes of northern India.  With the opening of this centre, neurology patients seeking admission and treatment in the Emergency and Trauma Centre will be shifted here, easing the rising patient load and decongesting the area.

A high number of patients, especially accident cases with head injuries, admitted to the trauma centre of the PGI must be treated for neurological problems.  The sanction of new staff has already been done for the centre.