VIJAYAWADA: In a major boost to public healthcare in Andhra Pradesh, the coalition government has launched advanced medical and surgical facilities for women, mothers, infants and children at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Guntur.
The newly established Dr Kanuri-Gymkhana Mother and Child Care Super Speciality Block, built under a public-private partnership at a cost of Rs 127 crore, began offering services this week.
The 600-bed facility, equipped with modern infrastructure comparable to private hospitals, conducted its first surgeries on Thursday.
The block houses seven operation theatres for complex maternity and gynaecological procedures, along with three theatres dedicated to paediatric and neonatal surgeries.
Officials said the centre is fitted with state-of-the-art neonatal care systems, including Total Body Cooling and High Frequency Ventilators, crucial for emergency newborn treatment. Of the 600 beds spread across five floors, 300 are allotted for gynaecology, 120 for neonatal care and 180 for children under 12. Treatments that typically cost thousands of rupees in private hospitals are being provided free of charge to poor patients.
Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the facility after successful equipment testing. GGH Superintendent Dr SSV Ramana said Gymkhana authorities contributed Rs 100 crore towards construction, while the state government funded the remaining Rs 27 crore under the initiative of Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav.
He added that staffing is being strengthened, with the gynaecology department currently supported by seven professors, six associate professors, 18 assistant professors, 60 postgraduate students and three senior residents.
In addition, the government has established an advanced PET Scan unit worth Rs 18 crore at GGH to provide free cancer diagnostic services.