TTD cardiac hospital a boon to children
TIRUMALA: After six months of inaugurating Sri Padmavathi Paediatric Cardiac Hospital on the premises of Balaji Institute of Surgery, Research and Rehabilitation for the Disabled (BIRRD) in Tirupati, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will lay the foundation stone for the paediatric super speciality hospital on May 5.
Once constructed, the hospital will be shifted to the new premises, which will be spread over six acres of land near Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women (SPMCW). It will be the first exclusive children’s super speciality hospital in the State and the first step towards Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s dream of having paediatric super speciality hospitals for three regions in the State, said TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy.
Speaking to TNIE, he said after losing the only government children’s hospital — Niloufer Hospital — to Telangana in the State bifurcation, AP was bereft of a specialised hospital for children, though paediatric wards are there in every major government hospital. On being entrusted with the task of constructing the paediatric super speciality hospital in Tirupati, the TTD, which runs BIRRD and SVIMS in the temple town, was on the job.
Initially, Sri Padmavathi Pilgrim Amenities Complex, which has around 600 rooms, was identified to house the hospital, but with Covid-19 at its peak in the district, it was temporarily converted into a Covid hospital. Now, the same building has been made Tirupati district collectorate on a temporary basis.
According to Subba Reddy, the search for the new premises and land continued and they temporarily housed the cardiac hospital in BIRRD, where a reception, three operation theatres, three waiting halls and a general ward with all modern medical equipment, were arranged at the cost of Rs 20 crore. In October last year, it was inaugurated by Jagan.
Now, the TTD has identified six acres of land near SPMCW and allocated Rs 246 crore for the hospital. The documents of land have been handed over to the government and it has been registered. Now, we are focusing on upgrading the 50-bed oncology wing in SVIMS into a cancer hospital, the first one in the State. A detailed announcement in this regard will be made in a couple of months, the TTD Chairman added.