Special OPD for elderly patients on Sundays at Safdarjung Hospital

NEW DELHI: A special geriatric OPD to provide healthcare services to the elderly on Sundays was opened for public at the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital. The outpatient department (OPD) was inaugurated by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday morning.

In the initial days, services at the facility will be limited to five departments –medicine, general surgery, ENT, ophthalmology and orthopaedics, Dr Sunil Gupta, medical superintendent of the hospital, said.

The Union minister also inaugurated several other medical facilities, including an advanced 3T MRI system - GE Healthcare's 750W in the Radiology Department, a Cath Lab and a Lithotripsy machine in the Urology department.

Vardhan said health has been positioned as one of the top agenda of the government and the new OPD reflects that the prime minister is committed to fundamentally transforming the country and give quality health services to the people.

While interacting with the staff, para-medics and doctors at the Emergency Block, Vardhan stated that the aim of everyone in the hospital should be to see that no patient is turned back or referred to any other emergency facility.

"Let us aspire to build our capacities and strengths such that we are able to attend to each emergency patient that needs our care," he stated. He also reviewed the processes of registration of patients, referral and other services.