According to state health officials, the state-run St. George’s Hospital in Mumbai, which is close to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), is getting ready to start a liver transplant program in the next two months. St. George’s Hospital will become the first facility in the Maharashtra government’s healthcare network to provide liver transplants, a specialized and potentially life-saving procedure, making this step a historic one.
The medical education department has been given permission to spend Rs. 4 crore to finish building a four-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) that will be used for liver transplant patients, according per a government order that was released on Friday. The goal of this facility’s construction was to provide healthcare at a reasonable cost; liver transplant procedures at the government hospital are anticipated to cost approximately Rs. 5 lakh. In contrast to the private healthcare industry, where liver transplants can cost upwards of Rs. 20 lakh, this represents a significant savings.
Earlier this year, the concept of establishing a liver transplant facility at St. George’s Hospital was proposed. Key state officials, such as Hasan Mushrif, the state minister of medical education, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar, and Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar, attended the online liver transplant facility’s June opening. Official licenses and some civil works, however, were still waiting at the time.
Work on the ICU is moving forward and should be finished shortly, according to a recent confirmation from Dr. Vinayak Sawardekar, the hospital superintendent. Before surgeries may start formally, he said, the hospital needs final approval from the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC). Obtaining approval from the ZTCC is an essential step because it controls organ transplants in the area and guarantees adherence to legal and medical requirements.
Furthermore, to launch its liver transplant program, St. George’s Hospital collaborated with Sir H. N. Reliance Hospital. Renowned for their proficiency in liver surgery, Sir H. N. Reliance Hospital surgeons will serve as honorary mentors and teachers for the St. George’s team. The goal of this partnership is to give the medical staff at the public hospital the training and experience they need to perform liver transplants.
More people will have access to cutting-edge medical care thanks to the opening of a liver transplant unit at a state-run hospital, especially those who cannot afford the expensive private hospital care. When this hospital is fully operating, it will relieve some of the pressure on private healthcare facilities by meeting Maharashtra’s growing need for liver transplants.
SOURCE :
TIMES OF INDIA
