PM Modi inaugurates new facilities at AIIMS-Kalyani

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday virtually inaugurated new facilities at AIIMS-Kalyani in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, including a cardiac laboratory and a generic medicine outlet.

The cardiac cath laboratory has imaging equipment to visualise the heart's chambers, arteries and other parts, while a new cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) machine can temporarily take over the functions of the heart and lungs during a surgery, officials said.

Modi also inaugurated a Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra – a dedicated sales outlet for generic medicines – at the AIIMS-Kalyani.

BJP MPs Jagannath Sarkar and Shamik Bhattacharya and other party leaders were present at the AIIMS-Kalyani campus during the virtual inauguration.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister launched development projects worth nearly Rs 12,850 crore and extended his government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above.

The major push in the health sector was unveiled on the occasion of the ninth Ayurveda Day and the birth anniversary of Dhanvantari, the Hindu god of medicine.

AIIMS-Kalyani started clinical services on January 27, 2021, with the opening of outpatient department consultations in eight broad specialties.

It started admitting patients in the daycare unit from December 16, 2021.