Gujarat: Govt Hospitals OPD timings extended by two hours

On an average, doctors attend to nearly 1.230 lakh patients in a six-hour period. With the latest extension, 35,000 more patients can be treated every day, he said.

In another announcement, Aggarwal said one relative or attendant accompanying a patient who is admitted will now be given meals twice a day at hospitals.

"While patients get meals in the hospital, the relatives who accompany them have to go out in search of food. Hence, we have decided to provide meals to one attendant twice a day," he said.

This will put an additional burden of nearly Rs 40 lakh on the government per day, the official said.

The government will rope in NGOs who wish to contribute towards this service for poor patients and their relatives, he said.

Persons above the age of 60 will be attended to on a priority basis at hospitals through separate queues at OPDs, case windows, physiotherapy centres, laboratories and medicine windows, he said.

Moreover, all government-run hospitals and community health centres will be asked to create separate wards for senior citizens. If that is not feasible, then at least two beds can be reserved for them, Aggarwal added.

Also Read:RML Hospital lengthens OT Timings to conduct more procedures in single day