With better infrastructure, government hospitals in Chennai have changed like never before. Making the hospitals patient-friendly is gaining priority among major hospitals, with institutions lending an ear to the needs of patients and adding amenities such as battery cars, spacious waiting sheds and water heaters in wards.
The ambience in government hospitals has undergone a sea change over the years. The challenges of managing the huge flow of patients and visitors are manifold — maintaining sanitation, providing a patient-friendly ambience, availability of basic amenities, reducing waiting time, prompt care and so on. Nevertheless, a number of steps have been taken to ensure patient comfort.
Based on public requests, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) has made MRI services available round-the-clock. “MRI services were available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. We had requests from the public to extend the service so that the need to wait can be done away with. Following this, we posted a technician and the service is available from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. as well. We receive at least four or five patients, mainly with neurological conditions such as stroke and seizures, during this time,” E. Theranirajan, hospital dean, said.
Earlier, following requests from patients, the hospital had installed water heaters and set up pantries on all floors. Racks were put in place for their belongings to be kept. “To address complaints of insects and cockroaches, we are hiring pest control services and spending ₹45,000 every month,” he said.
Signages were put up at various points, while two sheds to provide a waiting place for visitors are being set up. “Twenty-five new lifts have been approved and ₹7.5 crore allotted. We are replacing the damaged lifts,” he said.
At the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital (TNGMSSH), Omandurar Estate, an advanced maternal screening scheme was rolled out two months ago. This first trimester screening comprised an ultrasound scan and blood tests for genetic markers and costs ₹1,000. It was aimed at providing risk assessment for pregnant women, V. Anand Kumar, nodal officer at the hospital, said. Another recent initiative taken by the hospital was adding two more battery-operated cars for elderly patients. With this, the hospital has four battery cars. “Elderly patients find it difficult to walk. This is very helpful especially when patients coming to the outpatient departments are referred to the “B” block of the hospital,” he said.
Surge in OPD
The hospital receives nearly 1,000 outpatients a day while the in-patient flow has increased 1.5 times when compared to pre-COVID times, he said. “Before COVID-19, we had 260 to 280 in-patients. Now, it has increased to more than 400. Individual departments are getting increased inflow of outpatients, while referrals has also increased,” he added.
R. Jayanthi, dean of Government Medical College hospital, Omandurar Estate, said that emergency and trauma care has undergone a sea change in the government sector. “We have come a long way in housekeeping and ambience as well,” she said.
“Ours is a young hospital. As a way forward, we are rolling out the Health Management Information System in a phased manner. We will digitise records and make the hospital paper-free so that it will be convenient for both patients as well as doctors. Already, we have the Laboratory Information Management System in place,” she said.
Considering the huge inflow of patients and visitors, keeping the premises clean was a priority area. P. Balaji, dean of Government Stanley Medical College hospital, said the premises was well-maintained by workers and disinfection was carried out at regular intervals to prevent cross infections.
While the battery car facility was available to pick up sick patients and transport them from one block to another, individual pharmacy outlets near each specialty outpatient department were in place to avoid crowds and save time. “Though the centralised laboratory services are available, individual blood collection counters are being brought in at the OPD and emergency departments for the convenience of patients and enable quicker service,” he said.
The infrastructure has really improved in the government sector, he said. “We have all specialities under a single roof. We have pay wards and single rooms as well.”
