TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The much-awaited Rs 21-crore Cardiovascular Unit at the Goa Medical College and Hospital will be formally inaugurated today, February 18. Once fully operational the cardiac unit, will be able to cater to all types of cardiac, cardiothoracic and cardiovascular surgeries, angioplasty and angiograms.
Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said that diagnosis in initial cases have already begun and seven cases have been detected and two angioplasties have already been done. The new centre offers a total of 22 ICU beds, including a 12-bedded coronary care unit, eight bedded cardio-thoracic intensive care unit, a cardiac catheterization laboratory, two operation theatres and besides a 20 bedded ward for pre and postoperative care.
Planning for the new cardiovascular science centre at the GMC began in mid-2012 and the cabinet approved the proposal in February 2013.
However, the government recruited staff for the unit including cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and cardiac anesthetists as early as April 2013. This despite the design being finalized only in June 2013 and subsequently the work of renovation began, while nurses and technicians were recruited only in July and joined in late January 2014.
The centre will provide 24-hour cardiac services, emergency angioplasties for heart attack patients, emergency care for thoracic and vascular trauma, full complement of non invasive heart testing and cariology consultative services, valvuloplasty, paediatric cardiology services, diagnostic heart catheterization, angioplasty for peripheral arterial disease, bypass surgeries, valve surgeries, paediatric cardiac surgeries, thoracic surgery, vascular surgery and others.
However, doctors who have newly taken charge are hoping that the capacity of the new ward will be sufficient considering the high prevalence of cardiac patients among the Goan populace.
“We expect to be running high volumes,” Dr Guruprasad Naik has said adding that they would also use other medicine wards of the hospital if there a many patients as is expected.
Until now, the patients requiring cardiac surgery are referred to other hospitals and the money is reimbursed to the patient or his/her family through the government’s Mediclaim scheme.
The government spends as much as Rs 15 crore a year on an average in these reimbursements and starting a cardiac surgery unit is expected to bring down the government’s spending. The unit is already projecting a load of 500 surgeries, 600 angioplasties and 2000 angiograms per year.
