MP: GMC ready for upgrade to meet AIIMS challenge

BHOPAL: Gandhi Medical College (GMC) and its associate Hamidia Hospital are getting its multi-disciplinary capabilities upgraded to meet challenges from institutes like AIIMS, Bhopal. However, calls for improvement caught in red tape. For over a year, one of the best sleep labs in the city at Hamidia hospital is being run by professors and assistant professors awaiting sanction of technical staff.

Built at cost of Rs 25 lakh, the sleep lab is well-equipped to record bio-physiological changes that occur during sleep. “The machine is at par with the best. We are in the midst of upgrading the facility to improve sleep and neurological diagnostics,” said GMC associate professor (chest medicine), Dr Lokendra Dave.

The first such dedicated clinic in the state capital is a collaborative effort of GMC department of medicine and department of TB and chest. Sleep labs monitor air flow in lungs, oxygen levels, body position, brain waves (EEG), breathing effort and rate, electrical activity of muscles, eye movement and heart rate.

Sources said talks are on with donors for upgrading the facility in Hamidia hospital. Meanwhile, GMC awaits sanction of contractual posts. Once recruited, technicians would be sent for training. In all, it would take 3 to 6 months for the sleep lab to be function to its potential, said a GMC official.