Entry in to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) wards will no longer be easy as visitors' pass is being introduced from Saturday to contain the swelling crowd in the hospital's corridors.
Instructions were received from the office of Directorate of Medical Education in Chennai to strictly prohibit groups of persons loitering in the GRH wards since crowd management is essential to ensure good sanitation and cleanliness in the premises.
“We are giving visitors' pass from Saturday evening in emergency wards to start with. Only one attender will be allowed with the patient and all steps will be taken to restrict visitors. GRH will enforce visitors' timings daily from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. only,” S. Vadivel Murugan, Dean in-charge, has said.
The hospital authorities have been asked by the health officials to give compliance report on how the new rule is being implemented.
This entry restriction, the Dean said, comes in the wake of an important demand made by doctors and medical college students to stop allowing crowds in to hospital wards and for police protection to prevent assault on doctors.
While the rule comes in to effect straightaway in emergency wards, it will be implemented in general wards from Monday. Printing of more visitors' passes will be done soon.
“When the patient is admitted, we will give the free pass. It will be done at the admission counter itself,” Dr.Vadivel Murugan said and he sought the cooperation of general public, patients, attenders and others in this regard. Pragadeswaran, Resident Medical Officer, GRH, said that at any given time a population equal to that of one panchayat is present in the hospital.
“We have about 2,500 in-patients and over 7,000 out-patients. Assuming that only one attender accompanies them and taking into account the 2,000-odd hospital staff, general visitors, police/revenue and other department staff, medical students and others, there will be 30,000 persons in GRH every morning. It is the population of one panchayat,” Dr. Pragadeswaran said.
The Dean in-charge said that a sincere attempt is being made to maintain hygiene in the campus .
Hospital authorities have expressed anguish over how sanitation took a hit because of a large number of visitors. Many of them wasted the stored drinking water and threw waste in public space.
Keywords: Government Hospital
