Chandigarh Sector 48 Hospital has no sanctioned posts, 7 years after opening

The shortage of permanent staff has also affected patient footfall, with many people reluctant to seek treatment at the facility because they are uncertain about receiving timely medical attention and choose other hospitals instead. Constructed at a cost of ₹28 crore from public funds, the four-storey building currently utilises only 83 of its 100 beds. Of these, 41 are allocated to the psychiatry ward and 42 to the radiation oncology department. These are the only two departments providing inpatient care at the hospital, reports The Daily.

Consequently, the hospital has failed to achieve its intended objective of easing the pressure on the city’s three major healthcare institutions — the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and GMCH-32 — which continue to experience heavy patient loads. It has also fallen short of providing accessible healthcare to residents of nearby sectors.

Outpatient department (OPD) services are also available on a limited schedule, with several departments operating only on selected days. Gynaecology, general medicine, general surgery, paediatrics, orthopaedics and urology clinics function twice a week, while dental services are offered three times weekly. Dermatology services are available five days a week. The hospital also provides laboratory sample collection and X-ray facilities.

However, patients must travel to GMCH-32 to obtain printed copies of their diagnostic reports, creating difficulties, especially for elderly people who may struggle to access results online. The online reporting system has reportedly been experiencing technical problems for the past month, leaving even patients comfortable with digital services dependent on physical copies of their reports.

Commenting on the issue, Sunita Sharma, president of the Sky Lark Association in Sector 47-D, told Hindustan Times, “Two to three days ago, my child was running a high fever at night. We went to the GMCH-32 emergency, where we were told it was nothing serious and only the dosage needed to be increased. But despite the dosage being raised, the fever did not subside. In the end, we went to a private hospital, where my child was diagnosed with mild pneumonia. If emergency services had been made available at the Sector 48 hospital, we wouldn’t have had to rush to the already crowded GMCH-32.”

Jyoti Swaroop Bhardwaj, president of the Sector 47-D residents’ welfare association, also pointed out that the facility does not lack infrastructure but still fails to function properly. “For us, the only options thus are the civil hospital in Sector 45 and GMCH-32. The Sector 45 hospital too has a shortage of specialised doctors, and GMCH-32 remains overcrowded,” he told the daily.

Parvesh Chauhan, a Sector 50 resident, said, “For minor issues, the dispensary is there, but for any serious health issue, we have to visit GMCH-32. Even if we go to the Sector 48 hospital, tests and medicines may not be available, and patients are referred elsewhere. Lab facilities and availability of doctors are a must for better healthcare facilities.”

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that four new outpatient departments (OPD) started at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), South Campus, Sector 48, here in 2022. The OPD services were inaugurated by Secretary Health Yashpal Garg. The foundation stone was laid on November 11, 2016, and the project was undertaken by the health department.

After the completion of the project, the health department failed to secure the necessary permission for creating the required posts for running the hospital. The facility then depended on GMCH 32 since 2018 and officially became operational in March 2019. However, depending on GMCH 32 could not solve the workforce crunch, as the hospital completely relied on the staff of GMCH 32, which put additional pressure on the facility, and yet there was no notice regarding a fresh recruitment process.

According to HT, there has been no new post created by the department since the 1990s. UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria visited the facility in December 2024 and instructed the authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that the facility could live up to its true potential.