Thursday, 16 MAY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Taking note of the patients’ concern regarding limited parking space, the administration of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital is planning to construct two more basement levels to expand the parking area. Many patients visiting the hospital have expressed their concern about the limited parking spaces available, forcing them to park their vehicles outside the hospital. Acting on the concern, the hospital administration has assured patients that they would expand the parking basement level during the construction of the new building that is coming up in the area where the gynaecology block stands. Further, many patients alleged that the parking space constraint is being compounded by people who while visiting nearby areas park their vehicles inside the hospital.
A patient Mohammad Ali, who visits the hospital every month for his heart ailment, said he faced the parking ordeal during his every hospital visit. “Often I am forced to park my vehicle outside the hospital due to the limited availability of parking space inside. Besides, I observe people, visiting nearby places, avail the hospital parking facilities to avoid payment for parking elsewhere,” he added.
Another patient Reena Sharma also raised the same concerns about the difficulty of parking vehicles inside the hospital due to limited space. “Aside from outsiders, the hospital staffers, including the doctors, park their vehicles inside the parking space. So, the hospital administration should address this issue so that the patients and the staffers have enough space for parking vehicles,” she said.
Asked to comment on the matter, the deputy medical superintendent at GDMC Hospital, Dr Dhananjay Dobhal said that the patients’ grievances on the parking ordeal were justified. “Initially, the hospital’s doctors would park their vehicles at the municipal corporation’s free parking area; but after parking became paid there, they started using the hospital parking facilities. Despite the hospital’s expansion following its elevation from district hospital to medical college, the parking spaces have not expanded. Besides, we are aware that many individuals while visiting nearby areas are using the hospital parking space,” he said.
“To address this issue appropriately, the hospital administration is planning to improve the parking capacity. We are adding two basement parking levels in the new building that is coming up in the old gynaecology block. As soon as new parking facility is introduced, doctors will park their vehicles there while patients will park at the OPD building parking lot,” said Dobhal
