Major Relief for Patients as Jipmer Extends Operating Hours
In a significant move aimed at enhancing patient care, the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry has announced a substantial extension of the operating hours at its common sample collection centres. This initiative is designed to directly benefit thousands of patients who rely on the institute's diagnostic services.
Revised Timings and Locations
The new schedule represents a major shift from the previous system. The sample collection centres, located at the general OPD block and the blood centre, will now function from 6:30 am to 5 pm on weekdays (Monday to Friday). On Saturdays, the centres will operate from 6:30 am to 2 pm.
This is a considerable improvement over the old timings, where the facilities were open only from 8:30 am to noon and then again from 2 pm to 3 pm on weekdays, and from 8:30 am to 11 am on Saturdays. The scale of this service is underscored by the fact that these centres collected a staggering 85.78 lakh samples between January 1 and November 13 this year alone.
Enhanced Patient Benefits and Comfort
The primary goal of this extension is to dramatically improve the patient experience. The key benefits include accommodating a much larger number of individuals, significantly minimizing waiting periods, facilitating more timely investigations, and enabling faster consultations with doctors.
A particularly impactful change is the new 6:30 am start time. This allows patients requiring fasting sample collection to complete the process much earlier in the day. This offers greater comfort and convenience, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women, and individuals with specific health conditions for whom prolonged fasting can be particularly difficult.
According to an official release, this effort is a core part of Jipmer’s ongoing commitment to providing patient-friendly, efficient, and high-quality healthcare services to the public. The initiative is expected to ensure a smoother patient flow, optimize diagnostic services, and boost overall patient satisfaction at one of the region's premier medical institutes.
