Chandigarh, Oct. 21 -- Seven years after it was opened to meet the healthcare needs of the southern sectors and reduce the burden on the city's three main hospitals, the 100-bed government hospital at Sector 48, functioning as the south campus of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, remains underutilised due to a lack of dedicated doctors, nurses, technical staff and other personnel. With no sanctioned posts, the facility depends on GMCH staff to provide services as a token arrangement, adding to their already heavy workload. The absence of permanent staff also drives away patients, who, in the absence of clarity on whether they will receive timely treatment, prefer to go to other facilities rather than taking a risk. Thus, the facility has neither been able to fulfil its purpose of reducing the burden on the three major healthcare facilities - Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Government Multi Specialty and Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and GMCH-32 which remain perpetually crowded - nor has it been able to ensure accessible healthcare to residents in surrounding sectors. The four-storey facility, built using Rs.28 crore of the taxpayers' money, currently uses only 83 of the 100 beds, of which 41 are in the psychiatry ward and 42 in the radiation oncology department. These are the only two departments offering inpatient services at the hospital. Outpatient department (OPD) services operate on alternate days of the week. Gynaecology, general medicine, general surgery, paediatrics, orthopaedics and urology OPDs are available twice a week, dental services three times a week and dermatology five days a week. The hospital also has a sample collection laboratory and an X-ray facility. However, patients have to visit GMCH-32 to collect physical copies of their test reports, causing inconvenience, particularly to senior citizens who find it difficult to access reports online. With the online system seeing a glitch for the last one month, even the tech-savvy patients are left with no option but to go for physical copies of the report. Sunita Sharma, president of the Sky Lark Association in Sector 47-D, says residents have little information about the services available at the Sector-48 facility. "Two to three days ago, my child was running a high fever at night. We went to the GMCH-32 emergency, where we were told it was nothing serious and only the dosage needed to be increased. But despite the dosage being raised, the fever did not subside. In the end, we went to a private hospital, where my child was diagnosed with mild pneumonia." She added that the rush at the GMCH-32 emergency is such that proper investigations are not carried out. "If emergency services had been made available at the Sector 48 hospital, we wouldn't have to rush to the already crowded GMCH-32," Sharma added. Jyoti Swaroop Bhardwaj, president of the Sector 47-D residents' welfare association, said the Sector 48 facility didn't seem to be serving its purpose despite having good infrastructure. "For us, the only options thus are the civil hospital in Sector 45 and GMCH-32. The Sector 45 hospital too has a shortage of specialised doctors and GMCH-32 remains overcrowded," said Bhardwaj. Parvesh Chauhan, a Sector 50 resident, said, "For minor issues, the dispensary is there but for any serious health issue, we have to visit GMCH-32. Even if we go to the Sector 48 hospital, tests and medicines may not be available, and patients are referred elsewhere. Lab facility and availability of doctors is a must for better healthcare facilities." Built on approximately 1.73 acres, the hospital was initially proposed as a 100-bed civil hospital to cater to the healthcare needs of the city's southern sectors, at a time when most civil hospitals were located in the northern sectors of the city. The foundation stone was laid on November 11, 2016, and the project was undertaken by the health department. By the time the project was completed, the health department had been unable to secure approval for the creation of posts required to run the hospital. As a result, the facility was transferred to GMCH-32 in 2018 and officially opened on March 4, 2019. The transfer, however, did not resolve the manpower shortage. Instead, the hospital has continued to depend on personnel appointed against sanctioned posts at GMCH-32, placing an additional burden on an institution already grappling with staff vacancies. The health department has also faced criticism over the lack of fresh recruitment. According to the information provided, no new doctor posts have been created by the department in the past three decades, while permanent recruitment has remained absent since the 1990s. During his visit to the Sector 48 hospital in December 2024, UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria had directed officials to ensure the building was put to its best possible use but little has changed on ground. GMCH-32 medical superintendent Dr Vishal Guglani said, "We have submitted a proposal for the creation of posts for the Sector 48 hospital. Many sanctioned posts at GMCH-32, including those for faculty, residents, nursing and other staff, are also vacant. We are in the process of recruiting against these vacancies, which will help ease the burden and improve the functioning of the hospital," he said. Guglani said round-the-clock emergency services require adequate manpower and supporting infrastructure, including minor operation theatres, facilities for emergency surgery, an intensive care unit and paediatric emergency services. "Several criteria have to be fulfilled to run a 24/7 emergency service, and sufficient manpower is essential. We are resolving the issues one by one. Our main focus at Sector 48 is on treating cancer and psychiatry patients. An ambulance service is also being operated between Sector 48 and GMCH-32 to facilitate access," he added....