The Punjab and Haryana High Court (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh) The Punjab and Haryana High Court (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh) ASSERTING THE need to reduce the burden of increasing patient inflow on PGIMER, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday rapped the UT Administration and its Health Secretary for taking court orders lightly and directed the Centre to inform it within two weeks about the status of the proposed emergency block at GMCH-32. The Health Secretary has also been directed to consult with medical experts and form an opinion as to whether the Sector 32 hospital still required the proposed separate trauma centre at Sector 53, which is quite far from the Sector 32 institute. The officer has also been asked to apprise the court of the need to upgrade facilities at GMSH-16. The hearing of a case on medical facilities at government hospitals in the region began on a stormy note when the single bench of Justice Rajan Gupta expressed dissatisfaction with the administration’s written response to the court’s previous order. Last month, the court had asked the UT Director of Health Services to be present for the court’s assistance on the requirement of trauma centres at GMCH-32 and GMSH-16. The administration, instead, had deputed some other officer to the court who apparently did not have complete information about the subject. “What is the problem in starting the trauma centres? Is it the arrogance of the officers? Is it the arrogance of the Health Secretary?” the court observed. “You do not want to provide succour to the patients and let them continue to remain outside in the open and in the corridors of PGI.” The court warned of strictures against the administration and observed that it would summon the Adviser of the UT Administrator to court, The case, however, was adjourned till 2 pm for Senior Standing Counsel Suvir Sehgal to seek instructions about the matter from the Health Secretary. The court also asked the Assistant Solicitor General of India, Chetan Mittal, to appear in court. During the resumed hearing at 2 pm, a number of doctors from the two institutes, including GMCH-32 Director-Principal Dr B S Chavan, were present for the hearing. The court was told that only 15 cases of orthopaedic emergencies, 51 cases of surgery and 107 cases of other medical emergencies were referred to PGI last year. It was also told that a project worth Rs 41 crore had been sanctioned for the new emergency block of 193 beds. Senior Advocate Anupam Gupta, an amicus in the court, told the court that there was overdependence on PGI in the city and even private medical institutes referred trauma patients there. Mittal told the court that the proposal for the trauma centre had been pending for the past many years in Chandigarh and now it has been sent to the Centre. The bench also asked the doctors present whether the GMCH-32 still required the proposed standalone trauma centre at Sector 53. The Centre in 2008 had approved the 300-bed trauma centre as an extension of the GMCH-32. A detailed project report for the trauma centre had been sent to the Centre last year by Adviser Parimal Rai. The court was informed by one of the doctors that the GMCH-32 administration was rethinking about the need to set up the facility at Sector 53 and there was a need for an ICU at GMSH-16. The court also observed that it had a similar query regarding the proposed facility at Sector 53. The bench also observed that there was a need to upgrade the Sector 16 multi-specialty hospital to super-specialty hospital and directed the Health Secretary to submit an affidavit on the matter. The court was also informed during the hearing that decisions were taken by the Health Secretary at his own level without consulting the doctors who “cannot even speak to the Health Secretary”. The court observed that it can ask the Advisor to supervise the matter in the case. However, it directed the Health Secretary to submit an affidavit during the next hearing and said that it would also seek his appearance if it was not satisfied with his response. Follow The Indian Express Coverage on Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018. For live coverage, live expert analysis and real-time interactive map, log on to IndianExpress.com For all the latest Chandigarh News, download Indian Express App

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