Super-speciality health centre may begin functioning by January next

The proposed centre will have cardiology treatment, nephrology, neurosurgery and trauma care units.

A view of the hospital building on the Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences premises in Shivamogga.

The super-speciality health centre on the premises of McGann Hospital, a government hospital attached to Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), is likely to start functioning by January 2019.

In 2012, the State government released ₹32.36 crore to set up the centre with a 200-bed capacity that would function as an extension of McGann Hospital. The proposed centre will have cardiology treatment, nephrology, neurosurgery and trauma care units. The work on construction of the three-storey building that will host the centre started in February 2012. The building has a built-up area of 15,000 sq. m.

Work on first floor complete

Sushil Kumar B.V., director of SIMS, told The Hindu that the work on the ground and first floors was complete.

On the second floor, the work on laying tiles, plastering of walls, construction of stormwater drain, installing doors, and plumbing works are pending. The State government in the budget of 2018-19 sanctioned ₹7.81 crore to purchase necessary equipment for cardiac treatment unit at the super-speciality centre. This unit will come up on the ground floor.

He said that the cardiac treatment unit will have a well-equipped catheterisation lab with facilities to conduct procedures including coronary angiography, coronary angioplasty and pacemaker implantation. The tenders would be floated on June 16 for completion of pending civil works of second floor of the building and to purchase equipment for the catherisation lab.

The SIMS would set December 31 as deadline for completion of civil works as well as for establishment of the laboratory. Tenders would be floated for some alteration works on the ground floor for setting up of a cardiac care unit. It has been planned to offer medical services at the super-speciality centre from January 2019. The cardiac unit will commence functioning here first after which nephrology, neuro-surgery and trauma care units would also offer medical services, he said.

On hiring the staff for the super-speciality centre, he said that, the professors serving with Department of Cardiology, Neurology and Nephrology departments of SIMS would attend the patients. The administrative staff for the centre and technical staff for the catherisation laboratory would be recruited soon, he added.