LUCKNIOW, April 29 -- Routine medical visits to community and primary health centres (CHCs and PHCs) in Lucknow have become an exhausting ordeal, especially for the most vulnerable as the summer sun blazes on and queues invariably move at snail's pace.

Elderly patients, pregnant women and persons with disabilities are among those bearing the brunt, as they continue to wait for hours for OPD registration despite guidelines mandating priority access for them.

With the Online Registration System (ORS) yet to be fully implemented across the city, most centres still rely on manual counters, triggering early morning rushes and serpentine queues.

Health officials acknowledge the gap. Chief medical officer, Dr NB Singh said that efforts are un...