Positive response to neonatal intensive care units at Sassoon prompts public trust to start similar unit at 4 PMC hospitals

The setting up of NICUs at PMC-run hospitals in the city comes after the success of establishing a 59-bed NICU at the Sassoon General Hospital, which completes one year on April 16.

Understanding the rising demand for more neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in the city, Pune-based Mukul Madhav Foundation has decided to set up NICUs at four Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) hospitals. Out of these four NICUs, the ones at Rajiv Gandhi hospital and Sonawane hospital would start operating from May 5.

Mukul Madhav Foundation, a public charitable trust, working in the field of healthcare, social welfare and education, along with the Shreemant Dagduseth Halwai Ganpati Trust, had set up a state-of-the-art NICU at the Sassoon General Hospital last year. (HT PHOTO)

The setting up of NICUs at PMC-run hospitals in the city comes after the success of establishing a 59-bed NICU at the Sassoon General Hospital, which will complete one year on April 16. The NICU at Sassoon has been instrumental in providing free treatment to critically-ill new born babies and has ensured 95 per cent survival of these newborn babies.

Mukul Madhav Foundation, a public charitable trust, working in the field of healthcare, social welfare and education, along with the Shreemant Dagduseth Halwai Ganpati Trust, had set up a state-of-the-art NICU at the Sassoon General Hospital last year.

Sharing her views, managing trustee of the Mukul Madhav Foundation, Ritu Chhabria, said, "Mukul Madhav Foundation and Shreemant Dagduseth Halwai Ganpati Trust inaugurated the Sassoon NICU on April 16, 2017. The unit has now completed a year. We are planning to extend the 59-bed unit to a 67-bed unit soon. The unit has been instrumental in providing critical neonatal care facilities to around 5,000 critically-ill infants free of cost annually and is one of the busiest NICUs in western Maharashtra."

Giving details about the NICU at the Sassoon General Hospital, Dr Rajesh Kulkarni, said, "The unit has facilities for total parenteral nutrition (TPN), human milk bank (HMB), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening for testing eye sight and newborn hearing screening facilities. The NICU has 12 doctors and 72 nurses who are well trained. After the NICU was set up, the survival rate of babies has increased to 95 per cent which is huge."

Dr Kulkarni stated that understanding the growing population of the city, there is definitely need for many more NICUs centres.

Apart from setting up of NICUs at the various hospitals, Mukul Madhav Foundation, would also be starting a laser implant unit at the Sassoon General Hospital from May 7. Chhabria said that the foundation is also planning to set up a paediatric unit with all facilities under one roof at the Sassoon General Hospital soon.