The new Maternal and Child Health (MCH) wing at Kasturba Hospital, Sevagram which aims to provide quality maternal and child health services was inaugurated on September 11 by Shri Dhirubhai Mehta, President Kasturba Health Society.
Mr. PL Tapdiya, trustee, Kasturba Health Society; Dr BS Garg, Secretary, Kasturba Health Society; Dr KR Patond, Dean, MGIMS and Dr SP Kalantri, Medical Superintendent, Kasturba Hospital, Sevagram were present at the inauguration ceremony. The entire staff and faculty from Gynaecology and Pediatrics and several senior faculty members from different departments also attended the function.
The MCH wing houses 150 beds for Obstetrics and Gynecology and 60 beds for Pediatrics and Neonatology. The wing includes the outpatient department, antenatal and postnatal wards, labour rooms, obstetric intensive care units, high dependency units, operation theatres, pediatric wards, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, and a skills lab. The high dependency units and intensive care units will cater to sick women and children and shall provide quality care to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity.
In 2014, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Govt of India, under the aegis of National Health Mission approved the setting up of a model MCH wing for comprehensive reproductive, maternal, newborn and child and adolescent health at MGIMS Sevagram. The MOHFW planned to develop model MCH wings all across the country which would follow universal well researched protocols and provide the quality services to mothers and babies.
Dr BS Garg, Chargé d’affaires of the project said, “We are truly excited to bring this unit in service of the mother and babies. The MCH wing, he added, shall radically improve the quality, efficiency and effectivity of clinical care and make the hospital more responsive to the felt needs of women and children.
Speaking of the necessity to continuously upgrade the hospital, Mr. Dhirubhai Mehta said that the Kasturba Hospital is undergoing major modernization works to enable the institution to respond more effectively to the challenging demands of the healthcare.
Dr Poonam Shivkumar, Head of department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at MGIMS exclaimed her happiness and satisfaction at the development of such model maternal and child health wing. The new set up, she added, would cater to all the needs of mother and child and would contribute to a better experience at the hospital.
Dr KY Vilhekar, Head of department of Pediatrics at MGIMS also expressed his excitement on shifting to the new wing. The department would now be even more kids friendly and the fact that mothers and babies can stay close by will add to patients’ satisfaction.