Rajindra hospital, Patiala, to get advanced trauma centre, burn unit by 2020
The Government Rajindra Hospital is all set to start an advanced trauma centre (ATC) and a burn unit from the coming year.
Despite being one of Punjab’s largest government hospitals, it currently doe not have any facility to treat patients with serious burn injuries and trauma that need immediate and specific treatment.
In the absence of an advanced trauma centre and a burn unit, the patients are presently being referred to private hospitals and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.
The private hospitals take this as an opportunity and fleece the referred patients, claim experts.
According to doctors, the refereed patients have to pay four to five lakh per case at the private hospitals. The ATC and burn unit at Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, are expected to help the state government to curb fleecing of economically weaker patients by the private hospitals.
Dr Harjinder Singh, principal of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, said, “The drawing and plans of the burn unit have already been made. We have even received the first instalment of ₹15 lakh for setting up a burn unit on the hospital premises.”
“The work of setting up burn unit is likely to start in the first few months of the next year (2020). It will provide great help to patients who belongs to economically weaker section,” he added.
He further said that the emergency department of the hospital will be upgraded into an advanced trauma centre.
Dr Ashwani Kumar, medical superintendent of Rajindra hospital, said, “The project for burn unit at Rajindra hospital has already been approved by the state government while the advanced trauma centre is in the pipeline.”
“Currently, the file for advanced trauma centre is lying with the finance department for approval. Once the file gets cleared, the work on setting up ATC will be started immediately,” he said.
He further added that around ₹45-50 crore is likely to be spent on upgrade of the emergency unit at the hospital to turn it into an advanced trauma centre.
An official, pleading anonymity, said that Dr Ashwani Kumar and Dr Harjinder Singh recently held a meeting with state medical education minister OP Soni and both the matters were discussed during the meeting.