Safdarjung hospital to ban three-wheelers, start five battery operated vehicles to transport patients

New Delhi: In an attempt to curb pollution, the centre-run Safdarjung hospital has decided to ban the entry of three-wheelers on its campus by the end of October. Instead, the hospital would start a free-of-cost service by launching five battery-operated vehicles to transport patients. 

The battery-operated vehicles would take passengers from the gate to various centres and OPDs. The doctors and other staff members could also avail of the services to move around within the hospital premises. 

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However, the three-wheelers would be allowed for those patients who have to go to the Safdarjung Hospital's emergency block. The decision would mostly help the patients who do not have any personal vehicle and have to take the bus to reach the hospital, reports the Times of India.

Medical superintendent BL Sherwal said they are buying the five battery-operated vehicles for Rs 1 crore, which they are taking from the amount that the hospital received as part of the Kayakalp award last year. Sherwal added that the service would help those patients who have to walk long distances inside the hospital.

He told the Indian Express that the service would be provided free of cost, adding, "This service will help the poor patients and attendants, differently-abled and the elderly, who have to cross long distances inside the campus on foot."

Dr. Sherwal said, "Gate numbers 1 and 7 will have this facility, and major blocks, including superspeciality, ICMR building, and medical college, will be covered," adding that they are working on the purchase and is most likely to buy the vehicles in a month. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported, in a separate incident, that private wards would be constructed at the centre-run Safdarjung Hospital, which was slated to be inaugurated by Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to improve patient healthcare amenities. Previously, it was planned that the private ward located in the super-specialty block of the hospital would be inaugurated in October, however, the plan was preponed to September 17, the PM's birth date. 

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