PGIMER sees 33% rise in OPD footfall as walk-in facility resumes

As the walk-in facility for physical consultation resumed on Monday, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) recorded 33% increase in the number of patients visiting its outpatient departments (OPDs).

For the past one week, on an average, 3,000 patients were visiting various OPDs daily, after prior appointments through tele-consultation or official website. According to hospital authorities, 3,942 patients were physically examined at OPDs on Monday (including walk-in and those prior appointments) besides 1,346 were provided consultation on phones.

Patients were seen waiting in long queues at the registration windows of the hospital’s New OPD department. Though the hospital authorities provided face masks and hand sanitisers to the patients and their attendants, social distancing was hardly maintained at these windows. Meanwhile, patients were randomly screened and tested for Covid-19, the hospital authorities said.

‘Expected more patients’

“We were expecting more patients for physical consultation on the first day, but due to the Bharat Bandh call given by farmers, not many patients from neighbouring states could travel to PGIMER. However, we are expecting an increase in the number of patients in the coming few days,” said Dr Navin Pandey, associate professor, department of hospital administration, PGIMER.

The institute has also cut down the tele-consultation timings by half an hour, to scale up physical consultation.

“Now, tele-consultation is being provided between 8am and 9am. the hospital can easily manage this footfall and ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour, but it is difficult to match the pre-Covid times as virus infection can spread. After inspecting the footfall for a few days, the institute will decide more guidelines for attending OPDs,” said Dr Navin.

Before the contagion, over 10,000 patients visited PGIMER’s OPDs daily. Since the suspension of walk-in consultation and online appointments in March last year, the institute had been providing OPD services through tele-consultation. From June 21 this year, physical consultations resumed, but only after prior appointment through tele-consultation.

On September 6, the institute also restarted online appointment facility, but with a cap of 30 patients per department to ensure adherence to Covid protocols. Later, the limit was increased to 50 patients, with 100 allowed at three major departments — opthalmology (eye), hepatology (liver) and internal medicine.

Now, patients can simply walk into the institute’s New OPD between 9.15am and 11am and get registered.