State’s first liver institute to get 4 more zonal offices

The Institute, which has been built in Phase 3B-1, has been equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, which will help provide super-speciality care, training and conduct hepatology research.

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann inaugurated the state’s first Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in Mohali on Thursday. While zonal offices of the institution have already been constructed in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Bathinda, and Ferozepur, four others are coming up in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala, and Hoshiarpur.

The institute, which has been established at par with the Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi, has been running out-patient department services for the last eight months.

An official spokesperson said, “The state headquarters of the institute have been built at a cost of ₹2.63 crore, while the zonal offices in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Bathinda, and Ferozepur cost ₹2.78 crore. Construction work of the four new zonal offices will be completed soon and district offices are also being constructed in Fazilka, Moga, Mansa, and Sri Muktsar Sahib.”

While the Punjab government has provided the land for these offices, a budget of ₹34.66 crore has been earmarked for infrastructure and other facilities.

The Institute, which has been built in Phase 3B-1, has been equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, which will help provide super-speciality care, training and conduct hepatology research. The institute that was built at a cost of ₹40 crore will have a staff of around 450 people, including 80 doctors, 150 staff nurses and 200 Group-D employees. The government has appointed former Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) hepatology department head Dr Virendra Singh as the director of the institute.

The institute, which has been established at par with the Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi, has been running out-patient department services for the last eight months. Soon, the institute will commence indoor, intensive care and emergency services. Patients suffering from liver diseases such as acute and chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, alcoholic liver disease, ascites and pancreatic diseases and disorders of the gallbladder and biliary diseases can avail treatment from this institute.

“The institute will also start telemedicine services at all government hospitals in Punjab,” the minister said, adding that a liver transplant facility is also expected to start at the institute soon.