THE POSTGRADUATE Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has decided to install alarm and buzzer system in all the sensitive areas of the hospital to declare any “code grey” situations at the institute. Officials said that with the help of the alarm system, the security staff will immediately reach the spot to deal with the combative behaviour by anyone on the hospital premises. Code grey in hospital terminology means combative or abusive behaviour by patients, families, or even the hospital staff.
The decision to set up the new system has been taken in view of a recent incident where a family member of a patient damaged the institute property and attempted to assault the staff following the death of the patient in the hospital emergency ward. The Association of Resident Doctors(ARD), PGI, has already written a letter to institute director Jagat Ram, threatening to go on strike if the residents are not provided a time frame in the next 48 hours as to when their long-pending demands would be met.
In the minutes of the meeting which was held on March 24 and attended by senior PGI officials, institute director Jagat Ram has also asked the institute security to set up a speed dial system so that the security control is immediately contacted in case of code grey situation. The minutes were circulated among the members on Tuesday. The institute has also decided to hire additional security for the emergency.
“The security department was requested to form a quick response team of four security guards for every shift, which would be present in the emergency and trauma 24x7x365 days to prevent and control such incidents in the future. With this goal in view, the security department was authorised to hire 12 additional security guards comprising 8 males and 4 females on outsourced basis. This team will not only respond to a Code Grey, but will proactively try to identify and curb the incidents,” read the minutes, accessed by Chandigarh Newsline.
During the meeting, it was also decided that the security department will train and brief all their security guards vis-a-vis anticipation and responding to such incidents in the hospital. “It was decided that training programme for all hospital nursing and housekeeping staff should also include training vis-a-vis response of staff during Code Grey,” the minutes note. About the recruitment of staff, the authorities have decided that six phlebotomists (who draw blood from a patient) will be immediately posted in the emergency and trauma through the existing manpower. “The strength will be further increased by end of May through fresh hiring of manpower,” read the minutes.
“During the meeting, it has also been decided that possibility of hiring 10 medical officers/non-academic JRs (junior residents) in the specialties of internal medicine and general surgery be explored to augment manpower in the emergency,” note the minutes. PGI officials said that the members of the committee have also decided to take a round of emergency to explore the possibility of increasing the space available for patients through reallocation/redistribution.
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) said that no meeting was held with the PGI administration on Tuesday. “The 48-hour deadline is ending on Wednesday evening. We will wait if administration comes up with solutions on paper,” said a senior ARD member. He added that further action will be taken after Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday, a review meeting was conducted by the PGI authorities to discuss the implementation of the decisions taken during March 24 meeting. Professor Jagat Ram told Chandigarh Newsline that the institute has decided to recruit 12 JRs (junior residents) for PGI’s emergency. “From the administration level, we are positive to resolve the demands of resident doctors. Hiring is being done in all those areas where it is required,” he said.