Introduction
With the prime motto, “Manava Sevaye Madhava Seva”, the temple administration of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which supervises the affairs of the world famous Hill Shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, has been doing impeccable services in offering free medication to the needy poor by setting up various hospitals viz. Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) Super speciality hospital, Balaji Institute of Rehabilitation Research and Surgery for the Disabled (BIRRD) – an exclusive Ortho hospital, providing a new lease of life to many.
Sri Padmavathi Paediatric Cardiac Hospital
Adding one more feather in its cap, TTD has come out with an exclusive Paediatric Cardiac Hospital, the first of its kind in the state of Andhra Pradesh, to attend to the children suffering from heart related issues.
Within no time, Sri Padmavathi Paediatric Cardiac Hospital, situated at the Lotus feet of Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati, has emerged out to be a boon for children who are suffering from heart anomalies and are not economically sound to afford expensive medication.
Noble Intention
The hospital has been set up under the instructions of the Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Sri YS Jaganmohan Reddy, fulfilling the dream of his father and the former Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh Late Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, in providing free heart surgeries to children, thereby giving them a new lease of life, as they are the future citizens of the country.
Set up by TTD in joint collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the surgeries to children are being performed free of cost under Sri Venkateswara Pranadana Trust. As these surgeries are quite expensive, the medical expenses for treatment are being meted out through Arogyasri Scheme by Government of Andhra Pradesh.
About the hospital
Every year, about 10 thousand children are born with heart abnormalities and out of which 1/3rd are critical cases in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Unless these children are given timely treatment, they could hardly celebrate even their first Birthday.
After the bifurcation of the state, there is no exclusive hospital to take care of the health needs of the children. To overcome this lacunae, the Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Sri YS Jaganmohan Reddy mulled the idea of setting up an exclusive Paediatric Cardiac Hospital, at the Lotus feet of Lord Venkateswara as the sentimental connect involved would definitely provide new life to the ailing children. This paved a way to construct the Hospital in Tirupati, with TTD acting as a facilitator.
Structure
TTD has spent around Rs 25 crore for this Paediatric Cardiac Hospital which has been functioning temporarily in the old Block of BIRRD hospital. The hospital has State-of-Art equipment that houses 70 beds, which includes 40 ICU beds, 03 Laminar Flow Operation Theatres. On a day, nearly 5-6 surgeries are being carried out to the ailing children.
It has five consultation suites in the Out Patient block besides patients waiting area. Apart from the ten regular specialists, visiting experts from Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru also attend to the patients every week.
A Cath Lab, first of its kind in entire South India has also been set up to provide advanced and better Medicare to the children suffering from heart disorders.
The ambience of the Hospital is designed in such a way keeping in view the needs and cognizance of the little ones.
About surgeries
Inaugurated by the Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on October 11 in 2021, as on date, 128 heart surgeries have been successfully carried out to the children aged between a month to 18 years in this hospital.
The attendants of the patients are also taken care of and free boarding facilities are being provided to them.
Superspeciality Paediatric Hospital
Considering the importance of the health care of the children who are the future pillars of the Nation, TTD is constructing a permanent 350-bedded Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital.
Apart from the Cardiac treatment, ten other areas of sub-specialities have also been included viz. Neuro, genetically challenged, Thalassemia Bone Marrow Transplantation, Oncology, Developmental Paediatrics etc.
Conclusion
The noble intention behind the construction of this 350-bedded Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital which is coming up in a sprawling 4 lakh square feet area is to pioneer in bringing ground-breaking healthcare to the needy poor children, offering them a new life, with the benign blessings of Lord Venkateswara.