State hospital to get test-tube baby facility

To help childless couples in Himachal,the lone all women hospital in the state – Kamla Nehru Hospital (KNH) – may soon have a highly advanced In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) centre. “ The IVF facility is very much on the cards and we will need some dedicated space and other facilities to make it fully operational”,said Dr Santosh Minhas at the two-day CME-cum-Conference of Obstetrics and Gynaecology that ended on Sunday evening.

Also known as “Lady Reading” hospital in Shimla,the institution has been providing specialised and routine medical care to women besides training gynaecologists for the state. At present,the hospital handles more than 30 deliveries in a day and an almost equal number of emergencies. The pressure on the hospital is growing though the state has shown improvement in institutionalised deliveries.

Earlier state Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal ,who inaugurated the conference said facilities at KNH will be strengthened and asked doctors to set an example of “service with dedication”.

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Dhumal said around 70 per cent of Himachal’s population benefited from state owned health institutions as compared to only 30 per cent at the national level. To meet shortage of doctors and specialists,the government has proposed 30 more post-graduate seats ,he said.

“The state has been ranked top in the delivery of health services at doorsteps resulting in the best health indicators. The institutional deliveries have taken a record jump,exceeding even 90 per cent in districts like Hamirpur”,Dhumal said.