Gujarat: Gondal sub-district hospital gets newborn care unit

Ramesh Dhaduk, Lok Sabha MP from Porbandar, inaugurated the SNCU in the presence of Rajkot District Collector Prabhav Joshi on Friday.

The SNCU, set up under the guidance of Rajkot’s Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Government Medical College, has 10 beds. The unit has warmers, LED phototherapy equipment for treating neonatal jaundice, modern bubble CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine for treating premature infants, digital multipara monitors to keep tabs on heartbeat and oxygen levels of patients, a mobile X-ray unit and ECG machine, among others.

Joshi said that SNCU has been set up at a cost of Rs 40.71 lakh. He added that while he had allotted Rs 20.61 lakh from the Lok Mela Fund – a fund at the discretion of the district collector’s office – renewable energy solution provider Suzlon Energy Limited donated two CPAP machines, each worth Rs 7.8 lakh. Equipment worth Rs 12.3 lakh have been purchased by utilising patient welfare committee grant, Joshi said.

“Since the time I took over as district collector, I had been noticing that people from Gondal and adjoining areas had to come to Rajkot for treatment of their newborn, as government hospitals in their areas don’t have newborn care units… To make newborn care available locally, we decided to set up the SNCU in Gondal,” Joshi said.