The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Stone laid for neonatal unit at Gandhi Hospital

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Friday, Jul 01, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Stone laid for neonatal unit at Gandhi Hospital

Staff Reporter

Naandi Foundation, NICE to invest Rs. 10 crores in the project

HYDERABAD: Amidst tight security, the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a neonatal intensive care and emergency unit, being set up in partnership with the Naandi Foundation and NICE Foundation, on Gandhi Hospital premises.

The Government provided 1.3 acres of land for the centre adjacent to Gandhi Hospital in Musheerabad as its share while both the NGOs would spend Rs. 10 crores to build the infrastructure and run it on not-for-profit basis with 50 per cent of beds reserved for poor on non-paying basis.

The Chief Minister said the proposal was pending since the last few years and he had approved the proposal to ensure that costly neo-natal care was extended to the newborns at an affordable price. He appreciated the efforts of Dr. Anji Reddy, chairman, NICE Foundation, in shaping the project and described him as a role model for the younger generation. Dr. Anji Reddy lauded the Government's decision to provide the land for a project "The Chief Minister cleared the project in just 10 minutes though it was pending for the last four years," he said. "The building would come up in eight months." M. Padmanabh Reddy, CEO, NICE Foundation, said the city had just 36 beds for critical care of newborns though 1,000 children are born every day of which at least 5 per cent needed critical care. He said the new institute would have 100 beds to start with of which one third would be meant for critical care.

Tight security

The premise was taken over by the police apparently to prevent striking junior doctors from protesting in front of the Chief Minister.

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