Land identified, PGIMER seeks Chandigarh admn’s nod for building plans

The geriatrics centre at PGIMER will have dedicated OPD and emergency services, besides adequate diagnostic facilities, including CT scan, ultrasound and blood tests, in one place

The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has identified land for its ambitious geriatric centre and a critical care block projects, and sent the building plans to the UT administration for approval.

In March 2019, the Union government had approved a 250-bed Geriatric Care and Rehabilitation Centre at PGI with an aim to provide holistic healthcare to senior citizens under one roof. (HT file photo)

In March 2019, the Union government had approved a 250-bed Geriatric Care and Rehabilitation Centre at the institution with an aim to provide holistic healthcare to senior citizens under one roof. The centre will come up at a cost of ₹469 crore under the national programme for the healthcare of elderly (NPHCE) scheme.

With the country reeling under shortage of ICU beds during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre had planned to set up critical care blocks in 12 central institute hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

For PGIMER, the government approved a 150-bed critical care block, estimated to cost ₹208 crore, of which it has already sanctioned ₹120 crore.

But despite central nod, the projects could not take off due to inadequate space on PGIMER campus.

“The institute has been working to identify land for the projects and a vacant piece of land is available near PGIMER’s National Institute of Nursing Education (NINE). A detailed plan has been sent to the UT administration for their nod. Once approved, we will start the construction to accommodate both crucial projects,” said Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, deputy director administration (DDA) and official spokesperson, PGIMER.

PGIMER’s plan

The geriatrics centre will have dedicated OPD and emergency services, besides adequate diagnostic facilities, including CT scan, ultrasound and blood tests, in one place. Currently, elderly patients have to travel from one building to another for consultation. Besides easy access to healthcare for the elderly, the centre will also aid research in geriatrics. DM and MD courses in geriatrics are also planned to produce specialist doctors.

The critical care blocks will include an emergency area, along with ICU, isolation wards, operation theatres, and labour, delivery and recovery rooms (LDRs) with a newborn care corner. These blocks will have a medical gas pipeline system, oxygen generation plants, oxygen supply, air handling units (AHUs) and mechanism for infection prevention and control.