Pravrajika Bhaktiprana, the president of Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, inaugurates a 4D ultrasound machine at Matri Sadan Hospital on Sunday. (Amit Datta)

A south Calcutta hospital for women and children, run by the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, has introduced several services to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

A four-dimensional ultrasound machine, a five-bedded intensive therapy unit and a mobile dispensary and ambulance were inaugurated on Sunday at the 100-bedded Matri Bhavan Hospital.

Also inaugurated were a digital X-ray machine, a fire alarm, a mammogram and operating theatres for eye and ENT patients.

“We needed the ITU badly. So long, when a woman developed post-operative complications after delivery, we had to refer her to other hospitals. But now, with the ITU being commissioned, we will be able to treat them here,” said Biswanath Basak, a consultant at the Tollygunge hospital.

The hospital already has a six-bedded neonatal intensive care unit.

Lighting the inaugural lamp, Pravrajika Bhaktiprana, the president of Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, said: “The new facilities are another step by us in our endeavour to follow Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and serve more people.”

Matri Bhavan started functioning in 1950 with just 10 beds. The bed count kept increasing— reaching 64 in 1975 and 100 in 2006.

The hospital has bought a bus to ferry patients to its eye camps and back, and also students of its nursing school to the various community service centres run by the organisation.

Solar panels have been set up to provide the entire hospital with hot water without consuming electricity and CCTVs installed to enhance security.

“With the modern equipment we have now, we can provide much better health care. We only had a portable X-ray machine. Now, we have a digital one, which produces images with much better resolution. The mammogram will help in early detection of breast cancer. The advanced ultrasound machine that costs Rs 36 lakh will help detect congenital anomalies in the foetus,” said consultant Basak.

Pravrajika Alokprana of Matri Bhavan said the funds for the medical equipment and apparatuses had come from the Union culture ministry to mark Vivekananda’s sesquicentenary celebrations.

“The funds from the Centre came to our headquarters, Sri Sarada Math in Dakshineswar, and from there distributed to the centres,” said Pravrajika Alokprana. “We have been able to buy most apparatuses, such a ligasure which ensures minimal blood loss in open surgeries.”

The money for fire preparedness had come from the MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) fund of Mamata Banerjee a few years ago.

The 25 CCTV cameras and four solar panels were bought with donors’ money.

Pravrajika Alokprana said the hospital would launch a programme called Chandramani Prakalpa to organise medical camps at remote places.