NAVI MUMBAI The health services in Navi Mumbai have received a major boost with the municipal corporation adding much-needed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds and upgrading its fully-equipped labour wards at four of its hospitals.
NMMC has hospitals at Vashi, Nerul and Airoli, along with the mother and child hospital (MCH) at Belapur. In view of the demand for NICU and labour rooms in the hospitals, the civic body has increased the numbers on the instructions of municipal commissioner Rajesh Narvekar.
At Vashi’s FRU hospital, nine new NICU beds have been added taking the tally to 24 beds. Maasaheb Meenatai Thackeray hospital in Nerul received 22 NICU beds, taking the total capacity at the hospital to 24. With an addition of 10 NICU beds at Rajmata Jijai hospital in Airoli the number has increased to 22 and four more beds at MCH hospital in Belapur have been added increasing its tally to 12 beds.
Narvekar said, “We now have an additional 50 NICU beds in our hospitals, taking the total number of NICU beds to 82. Beds have also been added in the labour rooms which have been upgraded with equipment. It will ensure that a large number of new-borns get crucial treatment required in time at our hospitals.”
Narvekar said that the wards are fully equipped with the requisite machinery. “In the NICU wards, warmers have been provided in the labour room to keep the babies warm on birth, which is crucial in the initial stage. Preterm less than 28 weeks babies too need it. Phototherapy machines will be used to treat babies showing symptoms of jaundice,” he said.
According to Narvekar, “NMMC health department has been doing an impressive job with respect to the new born babies and hence a need was felt to further upgrade the system to support them. In the past 4 months, 276 new born babies have been treated at NMMC hospitals.
“Of these three babies weighed less than 1 kg and nine babies weighed between 1 to 1.2kg, i.e. 12 newborns were treated and their weight increased. Two babies with heart problems were cured and discharged. 60 preterm babies were screened and treated for Retinopath of Prematurity (ROP). The babies have been treated for various other ailments.”