Non-Covid services at Nehru Hospital extension soon

As Covid-19 cases are ebbing in the city, the PGI is considering shifting focus to non-Covid services at Nehru Hospital Extension (NHE), which is currently being used for Covid patients for almost two years.

At present, 35 Covid patients are admitted to the Covid hospital (Nehru Hospital Extension Block). This block was converted into a Covid hospital in 2020 when the pandemic struck the city. All Covid patients were being admitted to this hospital and so far, 9,361 patients have been admitted to this block.

The newly established 334-bed Nehru Hospital Extension Block of the PGI is a hi-tech facility equipped with providing specialised services in endocrinology, ENT, hepatology and radiotherapy.

It was decided that the ground floor of the new hospital will comprise faculty rooms, the administration office and the radiotherapy wing. The first floor will house ENT wards with 47 beds and minor OTs and the oncology wing and wards with 86 beds. The hepatology department and wards with 45 beds, the endocrinology department and wards with 36 beds and nuclear medicine and private wards will be on the second floor.

The third floor will comprise all private wards with 78 rooms. The fourth floor consists of 10 modular operation theatres with 84 beds in pre and post-operative ICUs and CCUs.

The PGI Director, Dr Surjit Singh, said, “As the Covid cases are coming down, our endeavour will be to re-start non-Covid services for which the hospital was constructed. We are considering beginning the services of ENT, radiotherapy, hepatology and endocrinology in the next few days at this hospital.”

At least 10 modular operation theatres with 99.9 per cent bacteria-free atmosphere have been set up in Nehru Extension Hospital. Due to a space crunch at Nehru Hospital, these departments were unable to manage the increasing rush of patients.

Indoor passage for patients
The construction of an indoor passage connecting Nehru Hospital Extension with the Nehru Hospital building is underway. This passage will be helpful for indoor patients of Nehru Hospital Extension, who have to go to the Nehru Hospital building for various diagnostic tests during the course of the treatment. Earlier, the patients used to be shifted from one building to another through the road, which caused inconvenience. Tribune India