Better health care facilities

Battered by H1N1, dengue and malaria in 2009, state pumps in Rs 60 crore to upgrade facilities at Sassoon and other state-run hospitals

Lack of beds, ventilators, manpower and no electricity are soon going to be a thing of the past. That's what made the news when government-run hospitals were talked about last year.

However, the public health department claims that it is determined to change that with its elaborate plans for a complete 'make-over' this year.

To begin with, a Rs 60-crore makeover project slated for Sassoon Hospital will be completed this year.

According to Dr Pravin Shengare, deputy director DMER, the makeover will ensure enhanced capacity in beds, ICU units as well as world-class equipment.

"We have built a super-speciality building in the hospital premises. It'll be fully operational by the middle of the year. Besides shifting and even starting new departments like cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, cardiology, urology, we have bought world-class equipment like a 64-slide CT scanner, state of the art cathlab for angiography, heart-lung machine, super advanced ventilators worth Rs 2 crore, etc."

New hospital
Besides that, the state is expected to soon have its second infectious disease hospital in Aundh. With the second wave of swine flu expected this year, the state government is putting final touches to a proposal for starting a 200-bed hospital in Pune on the lines of Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital, which is currently the state's sole centre for treatment of infectious diseases.

According to Dru00a0 D S Dakhure, director general of health services, a building that used to house the Employee State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) Hospital until recently, has been obtained for the proposed hospital.

The new hospital will have isolation wards foru00a0 patients with contagious diseases, hi-tech ICUs and is expected
to serve Pune and neighbouring districts.

More makeovers
After swine flu patients started getting admitted to Aundh Hospital and a can of worms opened as reports of stinking toilets, non-existent security and lack of equipment surfaced, authorities started undertaking a massive campaign for upgrading facilities.

Renovation work has begun at the hospital and according to civil surgeon Dr M C Nagare, the hospital is going to expand its services especially for contagious diseases catering to patients mainly from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) area.

Already the wards now boast of water, electricity and proper drainage systems in place, the renovation is seeing new flooring, windows and doors, while the waiting areas have been cleaned up.