CUTTACK: Four years after it was proposed, the second catheterisation lab (cath lab) is going to be set up at Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery(CTVS) department in SCB Medical College and Hospital within a month.A cath lab is an examination room in a hospital where several types of tests and procedures like ablation, angiogram, angioplasty, implantation of pacemakers, among others, are performed.
On an average, every month around 250 to 300 heart patients depend on the existing cath lab which was set up 12 years back. Patients avail the facilities for free. As a maximum of 10 patients undergo tests and procedures at a given point of time in a day, several others have to wait for a longer period. Considering the rising number of heart patients, four years back the MCH proposed setting up the second cath lab with an estimated cost of `2 crore.
Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited (OSMCL) which was entrusted to procure necessary machines and medical equipment had floated a tender for the same. But OSMCL had to cancel the tender due to participation of a single firm. It floated a tender for the second time wherein Phillips company was selected to set up the second cath lab at SCBMCH. However, the establishment cost escalated from `2 crore to `3 crore now.
“The technical team of Phillips company has inspected and taken stock of the infrastructure for setting up the second cath lab. A high-end machine is being procured from Holland for setting up a second cath lab at the third floor of the department’s building,” said Head of the CTVS department Prof Manoj Patnaik.
He added that the second cath lab is expected to be set up in a month. Once it is set up, the caseload on the old cath lab which increased after Covid-19 pandemic will be reduced. Besides, it will help in conducting several other procedures including electrophysiological study (EP study) to evaluate one’s heart’s electrical system and to check for abnormal heart rhythms, he added.