To curb the problem of staff arriving late at Chandigarh’s premier medical institution, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), biometric attendance has been implemented from today. The new system began at the Advanced Pediatric Centre (APC) on Monday, March 2nd.
According to the PGI administration, this decision was made due to the inconvenience faced by patients. Often, in the OPD and wards, patients were unable to find the relevant staff at their seats for testing and administrative formalities on time, resulting in delays in treatment.
Attendance at 9:30 am is mandatory as per duty roster.
The office order issued by PGI Director Prof Vivek Lal clarified that all administrative and technical staff of APC will have to mark their attendance on the biometric system by 9:30 am as per the duty roster.
A maximum of 10 minutes is allowed for unavoidable delays, but delays exceeding 10 minutes will result in a half-day deduction from the employee’s casual leave. Chronic latecomers will not receive this exemption. Delays of up to one hour twice a month, if caused by unavoidable reasons, may be condoned by the Additional Medical Superintendent of the APC.
The list of habitual latecomers will go to the Establishment Branch.
According to administrative officials, tests prescribed by doctors often went unperformed in the afternoon because the appropriate staff was unavailable. This particularly affected pediatric patients, who had to return to the OPD the next day. This also increased the patient pressure in the OPD.
Staff will now be required to perform their duties for the prescribed period and will not be allowed to leave the APC without submitting their biometric attendance. According to the office order, biometric records will be reviewed at the end of each month. A list of habitually late employees will be sent to the Establishment Branch for necessary administrative action.
In the event of a sudden leave, it will be mandatory to inform the controlling officer and administrative email address on the same day, and submit the application the following day. Under this new system, APC staff were given until February 28th to register their fingerprints.
Robotic surgery in two more departments
Robotic surgery at PGI is now expected to expand further. Robotic surgery was first introduced in the Urology Department in 2016. Now, in 2022, a new robot has been purchased using funds donated by the former Head of Department. This robot will assist in kidney surgery in the Nephrology Department, enabling more accurate and safe operations.
Currently, the Orthopedics Department performs knee surgeries using a robot. This robot is currently provided by a private company. The department has now submitted a proposal to the PGI administration to purchase its own robot.
Additionally, the Department of General Surgery has also requested the purchase of robots. If these proposals are approved, robotic surgery facilities at PGI will improve in the future. This will provide patients with the benefits of modern treatment.