Pacific Medical College Udaipur

In the foothills of the Aravalli Hills, an enormous new private hospital together with Medical College have been built. In just 9 months, 5 floors of the hospital have been completed and are already stocked with state of the art medical equipment and highly qualified staff to run each department There are plans to add another 4 floors on top. The Medical College next door is nearly completed.

This enormous project was the brainchild of the industrialist Rahul Aggarwal who has other similar projects to his credit and we met him briefly on our visit working with his team, pushing them forward with finishing the existing floors. The idea is that the medical students next door at the University can gain their practical experience in the hospital and help the more specialist staff as well as providing a state of the art hospital for Udaipur in Rajasthan.

Its every architect’s dream to take an empty site and have carte blanche on designing the perfect building for a hospital. Most hospitals start off small, and have new departments added on as time goes by and end up a bit of a hotch potch! The layout of the floors at this Hospital is logical and symetrical and each floor has an enormous central corridor down the middle which is open to the elements each end making the hospital light and well ventilated. There are plenty of large windows and the wards are the old ‘Nightingale’ style – very large and very open which make them easier for nursing staff to keep an eye on all their patients. Sue Barnes, Practise Nurse from Weybridge in Surrey, remembered this style of ward with nostalgia and commented on how much more practical they are than the new smaller wards in the U.K. Departments are well sign-posted and, unlike other hospitals, there are not too many signs which make it difficult and confusing to find where you are looking for. Everywhere is very clean and inspires you with confidence at the high standards that need to be maintained.

Sue was particularly impressed with the Blood Bank Facililty with several comfortable chairs in the room where they take the blood and a recovery room with leather sofas where donors can rest and take some refreshment. A wide range of equipment is available for storing the blood and plasma.

The combination of the far reaching views over rural countryside, combined with the quietness, good quality of air and new modern building are a winning formula to help patients to make a speedy recovery.

At the moment, this hospital is free to the public and free buses operate from Udaipur encouraging people to come and use the facilities. On entering the large reception hall, there are many triage nurses lined up behind the counter ready to interview prospective patients and direct them to the relevant department to deal with their problem. Patients pay just 10 rupees to register (UK 10p), and all their investigations and treatment are free too. There were a small number of patients already on the wards taking advantage of the fantastic facilities.

The hospital will be the perfect place for trainee doctors and nurses to come and gain experience on the ward and greatly relieve the busy City Hospital. We felt very privileged to have a guided tour and also meet the owner!