A catheterisation laboratory (cath lab) will come up at the Aundh District Hospital (ADH) as part of the Maharashtra government’s plan to upgrade health infrastructure across the state. Authorities received the green signal on Tuesday and the tender for lab construction will be floated in the next 15 days, officials said.
A cath lab is a specialised facility where doctors perform minimally invasive tests and advanced cardiac procedures. The Aundh district hospital used to send minor or major heart attack cases and other cardiac ailments to Sassoon General Hospital or Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (Pimpri) before the announcement of the setting up of a cab lab at the premises.
Dr Nagnath Yempalay, civil surgeon, Pune district, said, “As per the non-communicable disease (NCD) programme of the National Health Mission (NHM), there is a provision to set up cath lab at hospital premises. Before the launch of the scheme, cardiac ailment cases were referred to private hospitals empanelled under the Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.”
As per the public works department (PWD) officials, the single-floor lab will be constructed behind the hospital’s building across 520 sq metres, at an estimated cost of ₹2.32 crore (excluding medical equipment). The lab construction is expected to be completed in one year.
“The appointment of doctors and other staff for the lab will be done after 75% of the construction is completed. The free-of-cost facility, including angiography and angioplasty, will cover walk-in patients in the outpatient department, cardiac patients from primary health centres and rural hospitals across the district,” Dr Yempalay said.
