Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai received a major infrastructure and technology upgrade on Wednesday, with new cardiac, imaging, dialysis, endoscopy and patient-service facilities inaugurated alongside the expansion of its Nalam AI outpatient pre-registration service to all 32 departments.
Health minister K.G. Arunraj inaugurated the facilities, which include an advanced cath lab, a 16-slice CT scanner, a 50-bed haemodialysis centre, a modernised endoscopy unit, a central kitchen, six air-conditioned paid rooms and a post-anaesthesia intensive care unit.
The Nalam AI service, initially introduced in the pulmonology department on July 8, was later extended to general medicine, general surgery and orthopaedics on August 24. Under the expanded system, patients can use the Nalam AI chatbot through WhatsApp at 9619222999 or the Citizen App – e-Nalam to select a department, appointment date and convenient time for outpatient registration.
The system is intended to reduce waiting times and streamline patient flow at the hospital. Its expansion means that patients seeking outpatient care across all 32 departments can use the digital pre-registration facility rather than relying solely on in-person registration.
The new maintenance haemodialysis centre was established at a cost of Rs 2.24 crore. It can provide dialysis to up to 150 patients a day across three shifts and includes facilities for treating patients affected by hepatitis B, hepatitis C and other viral infections. The centre is also equipped with a double-stage reverse osmosis plant.
The Rs 7.5-crore cath lab was established with corporate social responsibility support and will enable advanced minimally invasive procedures for complex cardiac conditions. Officials said the facility would be particularly useful for pregnant women with heart disease, including those requiring procedures such as percutaneous valvotomy while continuing their pregnancies safely.
A Canon 16-slice CT scanner, installed at a cost of Rs 3 crore, will provide rapid imaging, including whole-body scans for trauma patients. The upgraded endoscopy unit and post-anaesthesia intensive care unit were also inaugurated as part of the hospital’s expansion.
The hospital’s new central kitchen was established at a cost of about Rs 1.56 crore. It includes improved food preparation and distribution facilities designed to meet food safety and hygiene standards and could support a centralised tray-meal distribution system in the future.
The facilities were inaugurated as part of the hospital’s latest expansion, while the Nalam AI service will now be available across all 32 departments through WhatsApp and the e-Nalam Citizen App.
