Chandigarh: PGI’s first master plan approved
The decades-long wait has come to an end, as the UT administration has in-principle approved the first master plan of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
The decades-long wait has come to an end, as the UT administration has in-principle approved the first master plan of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
“The master plan is the institute’s future plan. It is the expansion plan of PGI for the next 10-20 years. The approval means a holistic development of the institute and we will not have to visit the UT administration seeking fresh approvals every time,” said an official from the PGIMER administration.
The proposal was sent to the UT administration around four years ago. New emergency, outpatient department (OPD), trauma centre, operation theatre complex, three parking areas, 1,000 staff houses and six super-speciality centres (all 300 bedded) including mother and child care centre, neuroscience centre, geriatrics centre, organ transplant centre and others will find a place in the master plan.
Inaugurated in July 1963, the 54-year-old institute did not have any master plan. It its absence, the institute expanded in bits and pieces. “There were separate approvals sought for different buildings. But, if we look at it from planning perspective, it was not a long-term plan. Comprehensive planning was missing,” said another PGI official.
In the absence of the master plan, parallel regimes were constructed, which were not interconnected, and the facilities were not being provided in totality. “Look at the canvas of the PGIMER, you will find that it is quite disorganised. There are houses behind the administrative block; emergency is in one corner while super-specialised centres are in another. Also, the blood collection centres are spread across,” said the official.
The officials further informed that the master plan will ensure holistic planning. The challenge is to optimally utilise minimum land available, for maximum output.
WHAT NEXT?
“In the coming week, we will receive the conceptual approval of the master plan. Implementing it will be a herculean task. The institute’s area will be divided into two parts — institutional area and residential area,” said the official.
For instance, as per the master plan, all 2-3 rows of residential houses behind Kairon Block will be demolished. The priority of administration will be to construct new emergency and OPD.
“The existing emergency building is old and is small to cater to emergency patients. We can use it for the next 2-4 years, but not beyond that. Ultimately, we will have to come up with a new emergency building,” said a PGI official. He added that patient care will improve. “In the next five years, the number of patients will be increasing by 25%. So, we should start preparing for it,” he said.