KADAPA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is set to inaugurate the Institute of Mental Health in Kadapa on Saturday. The State had only one such facility in Visakhapatnam till now. The government has taken steps to set up the Institute of Mental Health on the premises of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Kadapa to provide quality mental health services to the people of Rayalaseema and coastal districts.
Earlier, patients from the district had to travel to Tirupati, Kurnool, Nellore and Hyderabad to avail better medical services.The mental health institute will have a capacity of 100 beds, including 30 beds dedicated to de-addiction, four beds each for male and female wards, 10 casualty beds and 20 jail ward beds. The State government has recruited six assistant doctors, one superintendent, one psychologist, three senior resident doctors, and five post-graduates to work in the Institute.
Superintendent Doctor R Venkataramudu said, “There is only one mental health hospital in Visakhapatnam. Earlier, patients with mental health issues had to travel nearly 700 kilometers to get medical services. Now, the patients from Rayalaseema and coastal districts can avail services in Kadapa.”
RIMS was established with a capacity of 750 beds during the regime of former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
Medical and dental colleges were also attached to the hospital. Daily, around 1,500 to 1,800 out-patients and 250-300 in-patients are treated. The Mental Health Institute, Multi-Speciality Hospital and cancer care centre have been set up on the premises of RIMS to provide better and more advanced medical treatment facilities to the public. The four-storey multi-speciality block was constructed in 2.38 lakh square feet with a cost of Rs 125 crore and has a capacity of 452 beds.
The hospital will provide services for Cardiology, Neurology, Medical Gastroenterology, Nephrology under Medical Super-Specialities and Cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, Neurosurgery, surgical gastroenterology, urology, plastic surgery, paediatric surgery under Surgical Super-Specialities wing.
The super-speciality block has 11 units of high-definition intensive care units with a 152-bed capacity, a central laboratory suitable for all super-specialities, a radiology department, a Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD), a central pharmacy, 12 sophisticated modular operation theatres, an advanced cath lab, blood bank and CT and MRI scan centres.