The construction activity in the compound of Doon Women Hospital here has caused a space crunch which is causing problems to the patients, their attendants and the staff of the hospital.
As part of the plan to construct new Out Patient Departments building (OPDs) in the hospital, a makeshift OPD is being constructed in the hospital campus.
The executing agency has started the construction work and large trenches are being dug at the site. The place incidentally is used for parking the vehicles in the hospital.
The construction work, the materials used for this purpose and machinery are occupying a large space in the hospital which on normal days wears a crowded look due to large number of patients.
The patients and their attendants now are facing problems to park their vehicles.
The employee positioned at the parking spot told this correspondent that very less space is now left for parking due to which many people are parking their vehicles outside the hospital or in the parking of nearby Doon hospital.
Amit Rawat, a resident of Dl road, said that he has parked his vehicle in the Doon hospital as parking outside the hospital could invite penalty by the police.
The members of the staff are now parking their vehicles at the space near the ultrasound centre of the hospital where the ambulances are stationed.
Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of hospital Dr Chandra Pant told The Pioneer that nine OPDs are being constructed in the makeshift building and the work would be completed in a month’s time.
Interestingly, the patients and the staff of the hospital are sure to face more problems in the coming months as the existing OPDs would be razed to make way for a new building. Till the new building is competed, the staff and patients would use the makeshift OPDs.
The hospital data suggests that about 300-400 patients visit OPDs of the hospital daily.
The Doon Women hospital caters to a large number of patients from the States and nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh like Saharanpur.
It is worth mentioning here that to accommodate the ever rising number of patients, the hospital increased the beds to 190 against the sanctioned 111 beds. However the hospital is provided staff and other facilities on the sanctioned number (111) of beds only.