Despite being a premier institute of medicine in the region, the blood bank at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, is struggling to provide blood units during emergency cases.
Obtaining blood units from the PGIMER’s blood bank, which is common for all departments such as medicine emergency, advanced trauma centre, advanced cardiac centre and advanced paediatric centre, is proving to be an uphill task. As a result, patients and their attendants are affected on a regular basis. PGIMER sources said the demand for blood units usually increased during odd hours at the institute.
A PGIMER official said, “The patient rush increases after late evening hours in the advanced trauma centre and most of them are fatal cases. It takes 40-50 minutes to complete the blood test, cross-matching and labelling. Due to the patient overload, a single blood unit is being provided after a gap of 4-6 hours. In serious cases, we give blood units within two hours.”
Desraj, attendant of a patient admitted to the advanced trauma centre, said he went through a tough time when his brother was taken to the operation theatre. “My brother was in operation theatre and the doctors asked to arrange blood units There was no staff member sitting at the window. I waited for half an hour. Later, a person came from the lab and asked me to deposit a fee first. I deposited the fee at counter number 20, which was downstairs. I again went to the blood bank but there was nobody to attend to the patients. Along with others, I waited for them to call me for another 20 minutes. After this, I was told to collect blood units after four hours. I told the staff member that it was an emergency case.
{{/usCountry}}Desraj, attendant of a patient admitted to the advanced trauma centre, said he went through a tough time when his brother was taken to the operation theatre. “My brother was in operation theatre and the doctors asked to arrange blood units There was no staff member sitting at the window. I waited for half an hour. Later, a person came from the lab and asked me to deposit a fee first. I deposited the fee at counter number 20, which was downstairs. I again went to the blood bank but there was nobody to attend to the patients. Along with others, I waited for them to call me for another 20 minutes. After this, I was told to collect blood units after four hours. I told the staff member that it was an emergency case.
{{/usCountry}}However, he said every case here was an emergency.”
Ashwani Munjal, general secretary of Medical Technology Association at PGIMER said the delay in delivery of blood units to patients was due to the excessive rush. He said X-ray units were established in five key departments of the institute recently. He said, “Similarly, separate blood banks should also be opened in other departments.
The advanced cardiac centre and advanced paediatric centre are two major departments where separate blood banks need to be opened first. This will ease the situation.” Neelam Marwah, head of the department of blood transfusion, PGIMER, could not be contacted.
However, Manju Wadwalkar, PGIMER spokesperson, said: “Patients are being provided blood units on priority basis. We will look into the problem and take it up with the department concerned.”