Cheluvamba Hospital, one of the oldest healthcare facilities for women and children in Karnataka, is all set to ease the workload and ensure timely treatment of newborn babies and nursing mothers.
Soon, the hospital will get two additional labour rooms and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The state government has sanctioned Rs 4 crore to take up building construction work.
The hospital, a unit of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), has a total capacity of around 410 beds, including paediatric, obstetrics and gynaecology wards, and has specialised units providing neonatal intensive care, paediatric intensive care and immunisation.
At present, with only two labour wards and one NICU, the hospital is facing difficulty in attending to babies and nursing mothers on time. The labour wards have the capacity to handle the delivery of only 10 babies each, whereas the NICU has the capacity to accommodate only 12 babies. On an average, the hospital handles 50 deliveries a day and treats ‘in’ and ‘out’ born babies at the NICU. “The NICU will be extended to house 30 newborns,” said MMCRI Dean and Director Dr B Krishnamurthy.
An estimation for equipment like cots, beds, etc, will be submitted to the government once the construction work is completed. Besides, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced Rs 1.6 crore in the recent budget to provide the required equipment and other development activities at Cheluvamba Hospital, added the director.
According to the hospital in-charge Superintendent, Dr Manjunath, the State government has released Rs 2 crore for the construction of wards. As the existing wards are old and small, paediatricians and nurses are facing difficulty in attending to babies and nursing mothers. With the additional facilities, the risk will be reduced and the service will be effective.
The hospital receives a majority of patients from the rural areas, said the superintendent.
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