Naina Mishra
Chandigarh, December 18
Conceived in 2018, the UT Administration has failed to start a dedicated Mother and Child Care Centre at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, due to paucity of space.
Pending health infra
GMSH, Sector 16
Rs 100 cr Project cost
7-storey building
5.42 L sq ft Covered area
404 Beds for patients
Doctors at government hospitals in the city have time and again raised the issue of overburdened labour rooms, and mother and child wards at these facilities. Many a time, more than one patient or newborn are accommodated on a single bed. There is a huge rush at OPDs in each of the three Civil Hospitals as also Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and GMSH-16.
Dire need due to rush
There is a dire need for centre because of heavy rush at existing facilities. We need to find alternative space to shift existing facilities, Dr Suman Singh, Director Health Services
Besides, the GMSH-16 is overburdened with referrals of pregnant women from nearby states, adding to the rush at the gynaecology ward of the hospital.
Abrupt referrals from Punjab hospitals is leading to maternal deaths in city government hospitals. The UT Health Secretary had raised the matter with Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in a bid to reduce mortality rate. A 404-bed state-of-the-art mother and child centre was planned in the existing building, which houses the gynaecology and paediatric facilities.
The project entails a seven-storey building, the tallest in the hospital compound. The project is estimated to cost more than Rs 100 crore.
As per the plan, the building will be ground plus six storeys with two basements. The total covered area will be 5.42 lakh sq ft and that on the ground floor will be around 30,000 sq ft. The “green building” will have a number of operating rooms, labour rooms, and other related facilities.
The UT Health Department had recently deliberated on shifting the existing facility at the GMSH-16, which houses gynaecology and units, to the Civil Hospital, Sector 22, but could not do so due to space constraints.
The UT Health Secretary had asked the Director Health Services to assess the possibility of using the entire Civil Hospital-22 for the purpose of Mother and Child Care Centre during the construction period and shift the existing medical services to other health facilities.
Director Health Services Dr Suman Singh said: “We could not shift the existing mother and child ward of the GMSH-16 to Civil Hospital-22 due to want of space. The project is hanging fire only because there is no temporary space to shift the existing facility. There is a dire need for the Mother and Child Care Centre at the earliest because of the rush in the existing facilities, but we need to find alternative space to shift the existing facilities during the construction period.”
Shifting blues
The centre is planned to come up in existing GMSH-32 building, housing gynae amp; paediatric facilities. Existing GMSH facility is planned to be shifted to Civil Hospital, Sec 22, till construction period. But, it couldn’t be shifted due to want of space.
