New block in GH to make labour smoother

For women in labour rushing to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital here, reaching the maternity ward removed far from the entrance is by itself is a tedious task.

Things are set to change with the completion of the newly built maternity and advanced neonatal centre, which was inspected by a team from World Bank on Monday.

A team from the monitoring committee of the bank visited the hospital to assess the centre, located right in front of the hospital, with a separate entrance. The centre has been constructed with support from the bank at an estimated cost of Rs. 6.2 crore. The committee would submit its assessment report to the World Bank, said A. Karthikeyan, dean, K.A.P.Viswanatham Government Medical College.

The centre would house a maternity ward and advanced neonatal ICU for newborns requiring critical care. It is expected to have a bed strength of 130. The new centre is yet to be occupied.

The team also assessed the non-communicable diseases project of the hospital. The medical college hospital screens all patients for diabetes and hypertension and advises appropriate treatment. Female patients are additionally screened for breast and cervical cancer.

While procedures like mastectomy are performed in the hospital, cancers in advanced stages, are referred to government hospitals that have the necessary facilities, said Dr. Karthikeyan.