Chandigarh, Jan 3 (IANS): Preparations are in full swing ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the border town of Ferozepur in Punjab on January 5 for laying the foundation stone for the PGIMER's satellite centre, an official statement said on Monday.

Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya will be present at the ceremony, the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) said in a statement.

A team of senior officials from the PGIMER, along with district officials, is already present in Ferozepur to oversee the preparations for the event.

With a budget of Rs 490.5 crore, the new satellite centre in Ferozepur is planned to house 100 beds, including 30 intensive care and high dependency beds.

It is planned to house 10 clinical specialty departments and five other supporting departments. It will also house minor and major operation theaters. It is proposed to be a platinum-rated green hospital.

With PGIMER's prominence as a centre of excellence in the region, the patient load at the institute has constantly gone up in the past decades to present levels.

The emergency and routine services are finding it difficult to cope with the patient load. Secondly, families have to travel long distances to avail services at the PGIMER. Thus, it became imperative that newer outreach models of service to the public be explored.

With this in mind, three satellite centres of PGIMER were sanctioned by the Central government in Una in Himachal Pradesh and Sangrur and Ferozepur, both in Punjab.

In total, these three satellite centres will add 700 outreach beds for patient care apart from offering OPD services to the public.

A budget of Rs 449 crore and 300 beds have been sanctioned for the centre in Sangrur. The construction of the hospital at Sangrur is nearing completion and its OPD services have started. Construction at both centres in Ferozepur and Una is expected to finish by 2024.