Preneet Kaur inaugurates Rajindra Hospital’s super-specialty centre in Patiala
No emergency, in-patient department, intensive care unit or intensive coronary care unit
After around a year’s delay, the super-specialty centre at Government Rajindra Hospital was inaugurated on Tuesday. However, the facility is still incomplete and lacks an emergency facility, an in patient department, intensive care unit and intensive coronary care unit.
Despite missing a number of deadlines, the government has only been able to start computerised tomography scan and out patient department services at the centre.
Medical education minister OP Soni and Patiala MP Preneet Kaur inaugurated the OPD services in eight departments of the super-speciality centre, 60% of which is funded by the central government.
An official, pleading anonymity, said, “It will take around six more months to start emergency, IPD, ICU and ICCU services at the centre. At present, the super-specialty centre does not have the required specialist doctors and paramedical staff to run OPD at other departments and other necessary services which will make it a super- specialty,”
The centre was initially supposed to start functioning from September, 2018. Later, January 1, 2019 was set as the deadline, which again shifted to July 1. The government, then, decided to make it functional from September 1. However, the authorities failed to complete the work before the deadlines time and again.
Under the project, 14 departments, including cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, cardiotherapy and vascular surgery, neurosurgery, neonatology, paediatric surgery, endocrinology, medical and surgical gastroenterology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, nephrology and neurology will be established at the centre.
The ₹150-crore project was initiated in 2013 by the Union ministry of health and family welfare under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. In February 2014, former Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had laid the foundation of the super-specialty centre.
Patiala MP Preneet Kaur said, “I hope other services will start functioning from next month. The centre will be of great help as it will provide treatment at nominal charges.”
Centre to be named after Guru Nanak
OP Soni announced that the super-specialty centre will be name after Guru Nanak at part of the ongoing celebration of the 550th Parkash Purb .