Gandhinagar, Oct 24 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually dedicated the country's first super speciality cardiac hospital for children at the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The 850-bed facility for children at the hospital has been set up at Rs 470 crore.

Informing the media, Nitin Patel, the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, who also holds the health portfolio said, "The paediatric section of the cardiac hospital is country's first such super speciality hospital dedicated for children. This facility will play a major role in bringing down the child mortality rate, as the deaths of children with congenital cardiac diseases will be prevented by this. The dream of the then Chief Minister and now the prime Minister Narendra Modi is fulfilled in the true sense."

"This hospital is country's first such hospital having all the latest technology and equipments, where there is facility for heart and lung transplantation. The paediatric hospital has 15 cardiac operation theatres, five cardiac cathlabs, a hybrid cardiac operation theatre, 176 surgical/ medical ICCU beds for children, 355 beds for adults, 144 bad ward facility for children with cardiac problems. The hospital is equipped with paediatric cathlab and modular cardiac operation theatre," added Patel.

The hospital is also equipped with High Frequency ventilators, nitric oxide delivery system, M-NICU (mother-neonatal) and mother bread feeding bank. It has cardiac rehabilitation department, imaging centre and other facilities, informed the minister.