Cuttack, June 24: The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post-Graduate Institute for Paediatrics plans to introduce a dedicated indoor transport system to ease the transfer of patients from one department to another.

According to the proposal, the institute, also known as Sishu Bhavan, plans to rope in the services of battery-operated e-rickshaws. This new facility will help critically-ill patients, especially those who come to the emergency department, to be transferred to the intensive care unit and other departments spread across the sprawling campus. The move is expected to offer relief to attendants, who face difficulties in shifting the children undergoing treatment.

"At an internal review meeting, we have decided to look for available measures to improve infrastructure, including cheaper mode of transport for shifting patients from one ward to another on the Sishu Bhavan campus," said hospital superintendent Saroj Satpathy.

Sources said a city-based NGO, We Care, has already shown interest in starting the indoor transportation service. The service, which will be offered free of cost to the patients, will be similar to the indoor ambulance service at SCB Medical College and Hospital that has been functioning since 2011.

The NGO has offered to charge Rs 15,000 as maintenance cost every month towards starting the service. The proposal for the project is still pending with the health department of the state government.

Satpathy said: "Once we get necessary approvals from the state government, we will start operating the indoor transport system."

He said they were also seeking proposals from other voluntary groups to begin the service at subsidised rates.

Narayan Kumar, the managing trustee of We Care, said: "We have also proposed setting up a mortuary with provision for two bodies. We will also provide free ice and hot water to the attendants of patients free of cost." Ice is used to preserve medicines, while hot water is used in heat therapy.

He said they had sought an additional 1,200sqft space on the campus to operate a dedicated toy house for patients, mostly children below 14 years. The proposed toy house will be a one-stop entertainment zone for the patients undergoing treatment at the paediatric centre and keep them busy.

"We have to move around the campus with the babies as there is no common entertainment zone or dedicated spot for us to sit with others. We hope that the proposed toy house will resolve these issues," said Kartik Swain, an attendant accompanying a patient.

Senior institute officials also said they had already begun efforts to procure state-of-the-art equipment worth over Rs 5 crore, including advanced monitors, ultra sound machines and lab equipment, as part of ongoing proposals to develop infrastructure.

The state government has already approved the proposal of the institute to increase the number of beds at the intensive care unit to 36 from the existing 21 beds.