RS Prasad vows help to upgrade Patna hospital

Prasad said though the state government was competent, the Centre would assist in IGIMS’ upgrade push

Union minister for law and justice, communications, electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has assured the Centre’s support to upgrade the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), an autonomous institute, on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Patna in a bid to emulate the best healthcare facilities in the country.

The IGIMS is increasing its bed capacity from existing 750 to 2,500. The institute is adding two more hospital blocks comprising 500 and 1,200 beds, respectively. (PTI)

Prasad has asked Dr NR Biswas, director, IGIMS to send him a proposal for a technological upgrade of various super-specialty departments of the institute.

He said though the state government was competent, the Centre would assist in IGIMS’ upgrade push.

Prasad said the IVF centre, which he inaugurated on Sunday through a video conference, should become a state-of-the-art facility. He said the public is aware of the fact that infertility is no longer incurable.

The centre would offer in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) facility of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory Petri dish. It would also offer intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) facility, for those having low sperm count and other complications, where IVF is not successful, said Dr Kalpana Singh, additional professor and head of the department of reproductive medicine, IGIMS.

The estimated cost for IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is ₹30,000 and that for ICSI (intra cytoplasmic sperm injection) is ₹35,000, excluding the cost of drugs, which may go up to ₹50,000, depending on the patient’s age. In private clinics, the total cost varies and could go beyond ₹1.5 lakh, while at IGIMS the procedure would incur an expense of less than ₹1 lakh, she added.

Prasad, who represents Patna Sahib constituency in the Lok Sabha, had contributed ₹1 crore from his Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for the construction of the two-storied building of the IVF centre. This is the first such government-run facility in Bihar.

He also inaugurated a building for the physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) on the institute’s campus. “The PMR centre will assist in treating sports injury, besides brain and spinal injuries,” said Dr Raj Kumar, the department’s head.

The IGIMS is increasing its bed capacity from existing 750 to 2,500. The institute is adding two more hospital blocks of 500 and 1,200 beds, respectively, said Mangal Pandey, minister for health and family welfare, Bihar.

Dr Manish Mandal, superintendent, IGIMS said the institute had performed many surgeries on children and cancer patients amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.