Chandigarh, Feb 25 (IANS): In a significant step towards strengthening tertiary healthcare in Punjab’s Malwa region facing high health risks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday will virtually dedicate to the nation All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bathinda.

He will dedicate the 300-bedded Satellite Centre of Post Graduate Institute of Medical and Educational Research (PGIMER) in Punjab’s Sangrur, besides laying the foundation stone for the 100-bed satellite centre of the PGIMER in Ferozepur.

Bathinda, Sangrur and Ferozepur are in the Malwa region, the largest political region of Punjab with 69 seats out of the state’s 117. Former Chief Ministers -- Late Parkash Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi, apart from current incumbent Bhagwant Mann -- are all from the Malwa belt, south of the Sutlej River always, where the chemical contamination of over 80 per cent of the groundwater is posing a great health risk of blood disorder.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the New Mundra-Panipat pipeline project worth over Rs 9,000 crore. The 1,194 km long Mundra-Panipat Pipeline with an installed capacity of 8.4 MMTPA would be commissioned to transport crude oil from Mundra on the Gujarat coast to Indian Oil's refinery at Panipat in Haryana.

He will also inaugurate the Central Research Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy in Jhajjar in Haryana. It will have apex level Yoga and Naturopathy Research facilities.

The establishment of PGIMER’s satellite centres will help in correcting imbalances in the availability of comprehensive, affordable, quality and holistic tertiary care health services to the people of Punjab and adjoining states.

The satellite centres will also reach out to the underserved population in far-flung areas through community outreach activities and by leveraging digital healthcare infrastructure.

The satellite centre in Sangrur, constructed at a cost of Rs 449 crore and sprawling over 25 acres, is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. With a capacity of 300 beds, the satellite centre aims to alleviate the burden on the main PGI institution in Chandigarh and enhance accessibility to quality medical care for patients.

Among its key features are 300 beds, five large and two small operation theatres, intensive care unit (ICU) wards, emergency services, in-patient department (IPD) services, telemedicine centre, and a host of other cutting-edge amenities leveraging the latest technologies.

The foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 2013, and its construction was completed in two phases.

Since its soft launch, the satellite centre in Sangrur has already made a significant impact with over 3,61,127 patients availing outpatient department (OPD) services across various specialties as of December 2023. Additionally, 269 major and minor surgeries have been performed.

With a budget of Rs 490.54 crore, the Satellite Centre of PGIMER at Ferozepur is planned to house 100 indoor beds. This includes 30 intensive care and high dependency beds.

It is planned to house 10 clinical speciality departments and five other supporting departments. It will also house minor and major operation theatres.