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Ludhiana: New walkway at civil hospital to keep ambulance routes clear
The road is often cluttered with parked vehicles and pedestrians, obstructing movement of ambulances, says smo Dr Akhil Sareen
The civil hospital authorities are developing a dedicated path for pedestrians along the road in the hospital to allow smooth ambulance movement.
The area along the road, which will now be turned into a path for pedestrians, is currently used for irregular parking. The disorderly parking not only makes it hard for patients to pass but also slows down ambulances carrying critically ill patients.
The lane will go from the gate to the emergency ward.
“The road is often cluttered with parked vehicles, pedestrians and ambulances. Due to this, both the pedestrians and ambulances are affected,” said senior medical officer (SMO) Dr Akhil Sareen.
Dr Sareen said that for the ambulances, every moment is crucial and cluttered roads are a problem when bringing in critical patients.
To further smooth the operations in the emergency, the hospital has procured 10 stretchers to quickly move patients into the ward upon arrival and, if required, to the minor operation theatre.
“Patients coming into the emergency are critical. We can’t let them wait in the ambulances while the stretchers are arranged. So we arranged more stretchers to deal with the patient load. We are trying to ensure that the patients can get help as soon as they arrive at the hospital,” said Dr Sareen.
The six toilets in the emergency department have also been repaired to ensure the convenience of the patients and the attendants.
Ludhiana is the biggest urban centre in the state, and the civil hospital, as the only government hospital, caters to a huge population. The emergency and the trauma ward receive around 150-200 patients daily.
Hospital staff gets training in rodent control
To deal with the persistent rodent problem at the civil hospital, the authorities have got the hospital staff trained in rodent and pest control from an expert team from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
The hospital has been struggling with the rodent menace for many years now. In the past, videos taken from inside the wards at the mother and child hospital have gone viral on social media, highlighting the issue to the public.
“The rodent problem is old. The hospital authorities have, from time to time, sought help from experts, including from the PAU, to deal with this problem. But the problem surfaces again after some time. Recently, the problem has been seen again at the hospital,” said senior medical officer (SMO) Dr Akhil Sareen.
The hospital roped in an expert rodent control team from the PAU recently to train the staff in pest control.
“We approached the deputy commissioner with the issue, and through the DC office, we roped in PAU experts. They trained our staff in pest control and dealing with the rodent problem,” said Dr Sareen.
The hospital now has monthly drives where rodenticide is sprayed across the premises to control the infestation of rats.
Last year in March, the hospital had a team from the Zoology department of the university for rodent control.
The team first identified the colonies of the rats and then pumped them with zig phosphide — a poison used to kill rats. They also dig pits with movable gates around the hospital so that rats could slip into them and not escape.
