Every day about 11,000 patients and attendants from the city and other states throng the outpatient departments (OPD) of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). Too sick to realise what’s happening to them, they often feel lost and bewildered among the crowds. To assist them, 360 volunteers of the National Service Scheme (NSS) from Panjab University (PU) and 10 affiliated colleges will now be on duty, taking them to the correct departments and doctors and helping them complete admission formalities as part of a project named ‘Saarthi’.
Giving credit to deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi for the idea, PU NSS programme coordinator Navdeep Sharma said during the first volunteers’ orientation progamme on Thursday that the students will mainly be stationed at the OPD. “We are collaborating with the State NSS Cell, education department and the Indian Red Cross Society to make this programme a success,” she added.
The new OPD reception officer at PGIMER, Narender, took the volunteers on a tour of the building to familiarise them with its layout.
For the nearly 11,000 patients who come in, they (volunteers) will carry out peripheral duties, guiding them to different departments and clinics. They will help the patients who cannot read understand the doctor’s prescription and follow other instructions and tell them how to get a patient’s card made, Narender said.
Happy to help
{{/usCountry}}Happy to help
{{/usCountry}}Excited volunteers said they were looking forward to working in the hospital. A student pursuing a master’s in human rights and duties, Vipul Singh said,“I always wanted to help people and this will give me an opportunity to do so.
PU BCom student Rajni said she had earlier worked with an NGO and helped the blind. “ I know how difficult it is for them to be at hospitals. I am happy that I will be a part of this programme.”
The orientation programme will continue till April 27 for different groups with volunteers joining duty from April 28 onwards, 20 of them coming in every day in two shifts. About 10 will work from 8am to 12noon and the rest will work from 12 noon to 4pm, programme officer Gaurav Gaur said.
The volunteers had been given instructions about confidentiality and were working in the OPDs as of now as hospital and NSS authorities felt they could “get emotional in the emergency rooms,” Gaur added.
If successful, GMCH and GMSH to follow suit
“If the programme is successful, we will expand it to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, and Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16,” said Sharma.
A 365 day plan was being prepared for the students, who were likely to take a break during the exams but would rejoin afterwards. They will also receive certificates for their work, Sharma added.