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PGIMER to appoint nodal officer to deal with referrals from Punjab, Haryana
It was also decided by the committee that the DGHS Haryana and DHS Punjab will refer the patients only in case the healthcare centres of these states are unable to treat them
The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) will appoint a nodal officer to deal with referrals of patients from Punjab and Haryana so that the institute can make prior arrangements for treating them.
An inter-state meeting of officers was held on Saturday wherein authorities of both states discussed the same with the PGIMER authorities.
Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj, director-general, health services(DGHS), Haryana; Dr G Dewan, director, health services, Chandigarh administration; Dr Avneet Kaur, director, health services(DHS), Punjab; and Dr Jagat Ram, director, PGIMER, attended the meeting in which it was decided that a committee comprising faculty members from the departments of cardiology, gastroenterology, hepatology, endocrinology, nephrology, neurology, and pulmonary medicine, will be formed so that the doctors from Punjab and Haryana can seek their advice in cases of emergencies.
It was agreed that the nodal officers from the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana and PGIMER would unanimously take a call on whether a patient should be treated in the healthcare facility of the respective states or an immediate intervention is required.
“The doctors from PGIMER will talk to the nodal officers of the respective states in case it is felt that a patient can be treated or managed in the healthcare facilities there and doesn’t require any immediate intervention,” minutes of the meeting stated.
It was also decided by the committee that the DGHS Haryana and DHS Punjab will refer the patients only in case the healthcare centres of these states are unable to treat them and that after the patients are out of danger and can be managed at their parent states, they will be referred back after coordinating with the concerned nodal officer.
Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, deputy director of administration, PGIMER, said that due to rush of patients at PGIMER it will be beneficial for the doctors here to make the necessary arrangements beforehand.
The DHS Punjab suggested that a WhatsApp group of doctors from PGIMER as well as from Punjab and Haryana should be made so that any Covid-19 emergency case can be discussed on the phone and necessary consultation can be provided, which was agreed upon.
Recently, the UT administrator had ordered that the PGIMER director should hold a meeting with Punjab and Haryana to finalise a protocol for admission of patients coming from other states.
PGIMER director Jagat Ram said, “After Punjab governor’s intervention, the decision of referring patients of other states after consultation with the institute’s nodal officer was taken primarily for Covid-19 patients. Other sick patients can also be referred after taking PGIMER’s doctors opinion. Around 30-40% of emergency patients in PGI are from Punjab, and 20% patients are from Haryana.”
The PGIMER director has time and again raised the issue that patients who do not require tertiary care medical facilities are flocking to the institute.
