May 16: The Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences in Sonarpur will start admitting patients later this month following the inauguration of the full-fledged indoor facility by President Pranab Mukjerjee on May 18.
The 100-bed hospital, unveiled in February, now runs the outpatient department.
"We have installed all equipment for surgery and diagnosis and are ready for full-fledged operations," said Abhijit Chowdhury, the secretary of the West Bengal Liver Foundation and the moving force behind the hospital.
A liver transplant at the Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences, Chowdhury said, would cost around Rs 15 lakh, compared with the Rs 25-30 lakh that any other private hospital charges.
The hospital has been set up at a cost Rs 40 crore, of which Cipla Foundation, which looks after pharmaceutical major Cipla's corporate social responsibility activities, has donated Rs 4 crore. The institute, built on private initiative with government support, functions from a six-storeyed building.
Metro takes a look at the indoor facilities.
Operating theatres
The two operating theatres of the hospital are on the third floor, housed in adjoining rooms. The OTs, designed especially for liver transplants, have an electronically operated bed each, imported from Germany at a cost of Rs 28 lakh. "The organ donor and recipient will be operated on simultaneously in the adjoining rooms. Surgeons will be able to monitor both at the same time," a hospital official said.
Special lights fitted above the beds will help surgeons spot the finest of tissues and conduct precision surgery, the official said.
Sterilisation process
Used apparel and equipment will be sent to the cleaning and sterilisation zone through hatch boxes attached to each OT.
Critical care
There are two isolation beds for transplant patients. A patient after undergoing a liver transplant needs to be kept in isolation for a few days to minimise chances of infection. From the isolation room, the patient will be shifted to the ICU or ITU on the same floor. There are five ICU and six ITU beds. "Not just transplant patients, other critical patients will be kept in the ICU or ITU, too," the official said. The tariff for an ICU or ITU bed will be Rs 3,500 a day.
Cabins
The hospital has six three-bed cabins and four single-bed ones, all on the fourth floor. The single-bed cabins have a TV set, Wi-fi connectivity and an extra bed for a relative of the patient to stay. The tariff of a single-bed cabin will be Rs 6,000 a day and of a bed in a three-bed cabin, Rs 1,800.
General ward
The male and female general wards, on the second floor, will have 20 beds each. The rent for a bed will be Rs 900 a day. Each ward will have two sections - medicine and surgery.
Lab facility
The hospital has a laboratory to detect complex liver diseases. One equipment is Microparticle Analyser, which will detect the level of hepatitis virus in the blood at a near absolute value. The Rs 44-lakh equipment was donated by John C Martin Foundation of the US.
