Medical equipment worth Rs 50L donated to Sassoon Hospital

Rotary Club of Poona Airport (RCPA) has provided modern equipment worth around 50 lakhs for the Operation Theater of the Pediatric Surgery Department of Sassoon Hospital. It has increased the capacity of the Department to provide better and more affordable critical surgical interventions for low- and middle-income groups in and around Pune.

The inauguration of the Operating Theater was held on the 29th of November 2022 and was presided over by the Dean of BJ Medical College, Dr Vinayak Kale, and the HOD of The Pediatric Surgery

Department, Dr Dasmit Singh. The ribbon-cutting was done by Iyer – VP of Alkyl Amines, along with project participants from RCPA.

The Rotary Club of Poona Airport Charitable Trust in partnership with RI District 3131, RC of Poona West, RC Poona Downtown, and two international Rotary Club partners – RC of Miami Airport and RC of Somerville – completed their Global Grant Project, SAVE THE BABIES of equipping the Pediatric Ward OT at the Sassoon Hospital with state of the art medical machines to save the lives of 1000s of newborns and infants.

The benevolence of our CSR donor M/s Alkyl Amines Chemicals Limited, and individual contributions from Kunj Chugani, Dada Fireworks, Life Inspiration Advisory LLP, Lalita Bhosale Endowment Fund, Dinesh Shroff, Sameer Thawani, and Meera Bhavnani with others made this project possible.

The equipment includes C Arm compatible operation table, Anaesthesia Workstation, Pediatric Cystoscopy Unit, a Blood Warmer and Fluid Cabinet, a Patient Warmer, an Electrocautery machine, and Cautery with Vessel sealer.

Funds were also received from Rotary Clubs in Pune – RC Poona West and RC Poona Downtown and also from several private donors. Currently, about 5000-6000 cases per annum are referred to the Pediatric OPD, of which around 1200 – 1500 cases require surgical intervention. Owing to capacity constraints, at least 200- 300 cases have to be turned down and referred to Private hospitals, albeit at a much higher cost.

Around 75% of these cases are done to correct congenital anomalies. With the addition of new equipment, the Pediatric Department can operate a second OT, thus substantially enhancing the capacity.

The Rotary Club of Poona Airport is proud to be associated with Sassoon for the execution of such a wonderful project. RCPA members regularly take up such projects which have a significant impact on the Community. Some ongoing projects are related to support for schools, building toilets, village upliftment, vaccination programs, teaching children of migrant labour, and supporting old-age homes and children with special needs. Punekar News