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Chandigarh | Sluggish pace of projects taking the wind out of GMCH’s sails
The healthcare projects that are stuck in the proverbial pipeline at GMCH, Sector 32, include a regional trauma centre, mother and childcare centre, emergency trauma centre, and advanced infectious disease centre.
With a clutch of crucial projects either hanging fire or progressing at a sluggish pace at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, the healthcare needs of the people of the region continue to be neglected.
The healthcare projects that are stuck in the proverbial pipeline include a regional trauma centre, mother and childcare centre, emergency trauma centre, and advanced infectious disease centre.
Trauma centres
In the absence of a trauma centre in the region, around 10 acre land was allotted for the same in Sector 53 around 15 years ago. Though the GMCH-32 director had submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to the central government, no progress has been made in the matter for the last five years.
A regional trauma centre will equip the hospital to tackle a plethora of emergencies such as natural and man-made disasters, road accidents, and other exigencies.
In 2019, the Chandigarh administration had also planned to build an emergency-cum-trauma centre on the hospital’s campus. However, the ₹6.5 crore project is way behind schedule with only 10% of the construction complete so far.
Mother and child care in a limbo
The UT administration had also approved a 348-bedded mother and child care centre for GMCH-32 in 2019, which was to be built at an estimated cost of ₹38,06,56,210. While the maps for the same have been approved, construction is yet to kick off.
With the global spotlight on infectious diseases, an advanced infectious diseases centre is the need of the hour. Earlier this year, the UT administration had approved the project, the first of its kind in the region. The centre will come up on 1.6 acres on campus, which was earlier earmarked for a sport injury centre.
The hospital’s director-principal had constituted a committee to finalise the proposal, and a detailed plan has been sent to UT chief architect.
Multi-level parking in the pipeline
Apart from helathcare projects, GMCH-32 has also planned few projects for the management of the hospital such as a multi-level parking.
To ease traffic management at the hospital, especially during peak hours of the out-patient departments (OPDs), GMCH had planned to construct a multi-level parking on the campus, the construction of which has also not started so far.
“A multi-level parking for visitors has been proposed to ease out traffic congestion. The engineering department’s feasibility report has been sent to the architecture wing and the status of the project will be examined soon”, the director-principal had told the UT administration recently.
Health secy to review pending projects
Taking note of the delay in execution of the projects, UT health secretary Yashpal Garg will hold a review meeting on September 14.
“We had reviewed all pending healthcare projects in July this year. The projects pertained to GMCH-32, GMSH-16, and health and wellness centres across Chandigarh. We discussed the reason for the delay and the best way to expedite the projects,” said Garg.
