Much awaited cath lab to start at Silchar Medical College and Hospital

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: On January 21, the Silchar Medical College and Hospital would touch another milestone as a new cath lab, the first ever in the south Assam would be inaugurated. The Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma would ceremonially inaugurate this 5.39 crore cath lab unit.

Established in 1968, the SMCH in its 53 years journey was a symbol of government negligence. The premier institute, though produced a plethora of specialist medical practitioners, still lag behind in its own infrastructure segment. SMCH, till a few months back, did not have any neuro department. Recently a neurosurgeon has been appointed here. However, the medical college did not have any dedicated cardio, nephrology urology departments till now.

However, during the first term of the BJP government with Himanta Biswa Sarma as the Health Minister, some concrete steps had been taken. In October 2018 during the Durga Puja festival, a local youth Sayantan Chakraborty died of a massive heart attack. He was rushed to SMCH, but the medical college could offer no help. The 29-year-old youth breathed his last while on the way to NEGRIMS, Shilling. The untimely death of Sayantan came both as a shocker as well as a booster. Shocker, as the 50 years premier institute had no basic infrastructure to save its own people. Booster, as the urgency for better facilities, found a unified voice for the first time. Friends of Sayantan joined hands, set up platform 'Thousand Sayantans' and ran from pillars to pillars to make the one and only premier health institute of the entire South Barak more equipped.

The joining of Dr. Babul Bezbaruah as the Principal of SMCH made things move forward at a commendable speed. The then Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma extended full cooperation too. A visiting cardiologist from Chennai had been roped in who along with his team visited the SMCH. Dr Bezbaruah informed that Dr Gopal along with his team of 10 specialists would arrive here on January 22 and the cath lab, installed by Philips, would be functional from that day. However, in the initial phase, only a demo angiogram and angioplasty would be done. Simultaneously they would train the SMCH staff too.

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