Naina Mishra
Chandigarh, December 16
In order to decongest the Emergency Block of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education (PGI), the institute has decided to put a 96-hour cap on patients’ stay in the Emergency area, following which they will be shifted to wards for further treatment or discharged thereafter.
The 200-bed Advanced Trauma Centre and Emergency Ward are bursting at their seams as the institute sees 800 to 1,000 patients daily.
Bursting at seams
200 Emergency beds at PGI
1,000 Patients arrive daily
39,996 Patients admitted in one year
Each patient is accompanied by one or two attendants, taking the footfall to 1,600 in the Emergency wards of the PGI. Within a span of one year, as many as 39,996 patients were admitted to the Emergency.
As per a PGI official: “To decongest the emergency hall (triage area, Halls A, B, C amp; L (corridor), medical emergency outpatient department (EMOPD), ATC OPD (triage area, yellow/green area, disaster ward in Advanced Trauma Centre, Heart Command and Advanced Paediatric Centre Emergency) of the institute, all stakeholder departments concerned will ensure no patient shall be kept in these areas beyond 96 hours and shifted to the respective units/wards/areas for continuation of treatment.”
Reduce waiting time
Patient turnaround time will improve and waiting time will reduce. Patients will be shifted to wards or discharged. —Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGI
It has been decided the faculty in-charge posted in the main Emergency, Advanced Trauma Centre OPD, Advanced Paediatric Centre Emergency, Heart Command will prepare the admission files of the patients under the departments or units concerned and hold the sole prerogative of subsequently transferring the patient to the units, departments or wards concerned within 96 hours.
The faculty has been directed to make best efforts to refer back stable patients to referring institute after providing the required tertiary-level care at the PGI.
Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGI said: “With this, the patient turnaround time at the Emergency will improve and the waiting time will reduce for patients in the Emergency hall awaiting treatment. Either the patient undergoing treatment will have to be shifted to the ward or will be discharged.”
