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PGI seeks Rs. 100 crores additional Central grant for new facilities

Rajesh Ahuja

PGI Director K.K.Talwar is hopeful that the amount will be released shortly

CHANDIGARH: The prestigious Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here is actively pursuing with the Health Ministry to get additional grant of Rs.100 crores for adding new facilities including PET scan, Cyber-knife,a Burns Unit and more MRI machines.

In an exclusive interview, the PGI Director, Professor K.K.Talwar, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan this year, said that he was very hopeful that this grant would be released shortly to enable the Institute to strengthen the existing facilities and add new techniques and technologies.

He recalled that the PGI, which came into existence in 1962 and was formally inaugurated by the late Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 7,1963, was not merely a hospital but an important milestone in the history of medical advancement. "It has witnessed a spectacular expansion in quality patient-care, intellectual academic programmes geared towards research and relentless upgradation of technology,'' he added.

So far as quality patient-care was concerned, the constant endeavour was to create people-friendly packages and even fix up vendors for supply of some materials. The stress was on helping the poor patients and a poor patients cell, manned by a social worker, had been set up. However, he admitted that sometimes these "efforts" appeared to be diluted because of the tremendous rush in the absence of referral facilities nearby. Moreover, more and more patients from neighbouring States landed up here given the Institute's reputation for patient care and the fact that free medicines were provided to the patients in the Emergency. He revealed that today the hospital has 1,402 beds that include several intensive care units.

The hospital caters to more than 12 lakh outdoor, 50,000 indoor and 40,000 emergency patients every year. The occupancy of beds in emergency is 200 per cent, he added.

Prof. Talwar said that the PGI had repeatedly stressed upon the adjoining States to develop more facilities so that the patients did not rush to the Institute for even a minor ailment.

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PGI seeks Rs. 100 crores additional Central grant for new facilities

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