PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
In accordance with the Standard OperatingProcedure (SOP) issued by the Health department, the Deen Dayal Upadhyay District Hospital has revised its referral procedure for patients. The SOP was recently issued to minimise unnecessary referrals from government hospitals. Health secretary R Rajesh Kumar had stated that patients will no longer be transferred from district and sub-district hospitals to medical college hospitals and larger facilities unless there is a valid medical reason.
In light of this, Principal Medical Superintendent (PMS) Dr Manu Jain informed that upon receiving the directives, the hospital administration promptly initiated steps to comply. He said that he quickly convened a meeting with the doctors at the district hospital to discuss the new procedures.
During the meeting, the doctors were instructed to ensure that no unnecessary patient transfers occur from the hospital to other facilities. Additionally, it was emphasised that in cases requiring urgent attention, there should be no undue delays in making referrals also. He said that the hospital administration has committed to ensuring that, moving forward, all appropriate resources available at the district hospital will be utilised, preventing unnecessary referrals. Additionally, he said that doctors will now need to consult with him personally before making any referrals. This allows him to assess each case individually, ensuring that referral decisions are aligned with the patient’s condition. Jain also said that he has established a register file at the hospital for nursing staff to document referral cases, including details such as the reason for the referral, the ailments involved and patient names.
He said that he will review the register file every day. In the past, prior to this direction, approximately 15 to 20 cases were typically referred from the district hospital to other hospitals, including the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) Hospital. He stated that with these new changes in place, they aim to reduce the number of referral cases at the hospital, he said.
It will be recalled that just a few days ago, GDMC Hospital also adjusted its protocols regarding non-obligatory patient referrals. The hospital administration has now limited junior doctors from making referrals on their own. Senior doctors will now manage all patient referral cases. Consequently, senior doctors will evaluate the patients’ condition, and the hospital’s medical superintendent will personally review these referral cases. Based on this assessment, the medical superintendent will decide whether to proceed with the referral or not.
