Hyderabad: State-of-the-art MCH centre to be inaugurated soon at Gandhi Hospital

The much-awaited MCH hospital with 200 beds at Gandhi Hospital campus can reduce the pressure of high footfall of pregnant women in the two existing State-run maternity hospitals at Sultan Bazar and Petlaburj

Hyderabad: In the coming days, yet another major landmark that promises to transform State-run Mother and Child Health (MCH) services will be inaugurated in Hyderabad. The much-awaited MCH hospital with 200 beds at Gandhi Hospital campus, which can reduce the pressure of high footfall of pregnant women in the two existing State-run maternity hospitals at Sultan Bazar and Petlaburj, will be launched.

The state-of-the-art MCH centre is one among three similar facilities planned by the Telangana government in Hyderabad. Two similar facilities for pregnant women, one at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and another one at Alwal are at various stages of completion.

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Overall, if all three MCH centres are completed, the Health Department will be able to offer anywhere between 500 and 600 beds to pregnant women in Hyderabad. “The MCH facility is ready for inauguration and hopefully a date will be finalised by the State government in the coming days. Another major initiative at Gandhi Hospital is the centralised transplant centre, which is expected to be ready in the coming months,” Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, Dr M Raja Rao said.

The MCH centre at Gandhi Hospital has been developed involving an expenditure of nearly Rs 55 crore. Crucially, the dedicated MCH beds will plug the gap in accessing multispecialty care for pregnant women during the course of their routine Ante-Natal Checks (ANCs) in government hospitals.

At present, pregnant women who get diagnosed with risky pregnancies at maternity hospitals in Sultan Bazar and Petlaburj are referred to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Gandhi Hospital, which only has 20 beds. As a result, pregnant women have to make multiple visits to Gandhi Hospital to access specialty doctors. With the launch of the new facility at Gandhi Hospital, this will not be the case anymore, as pregnant women will be able to have access to all specialty healthcare services under one roof. Super-specialty MCH facilities at Gandhi Hospital are also expected to have a positive impact on the maternal mortality rate of Telangana, which is at present nearly 43 for 1,00,000 live births.