GH gets prescription for easing traffic congestion

Chennai: The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, which is the largest government hospital in the country, is planning better strategies to reduce traffic congestion within and outside its premises. The hospital receives nearly 14,000 patients a day, resulting in the congestion.

“Despite there being parking facilities available in the basement of the hospital buildings, the congestion problem has not reduced. Though it is meant only for professors, the parking is being used by juniors and the staff as well,” said a hospital source.

With doctors, attendants, staff, students and patients all entering through the same gates, the entrance gets crowded, causing vehicles to pile up both within  and outside the premises. “We are planning to build arterial roads on the premises, to create separate paths for each category,” said a hospital doctor.

“As our main focus was to pave way for ambulances, we started something called the ‘Green Brigade’ in the casualty ward. Firstly, we ensured that people do not come in front of speeding ambulances while on its way to casualty. Usually, after dropping a patient, the ambulance has to go out. However, it gets delayed as the stretcher is taken to the casualty or the ward and generally returns late,” a hospital official said.   

The Green Brigade scheme involves participation of a team of nine members dressed in green. They work in shifts of three. “This is mainly done to prevent the ambulance from having to wait there for long,” said the official.

“The job of the team is to shift the patient from the ambulance on our stretcher so that the ambulance stretcher remains intact within the ambulance and the vehicle   can move out. It was suggested by health minister C. Vijaya Bhaskar,” he said.