HYDERABAD: Barriers of controversy are popping up in the path of the Neonatal Intensive Care and Emergencies (NICE) Institute for Newborns much before it can become a reality in brick and mortar.

Construction of the institute at Musheerabad has come to a standstill with students and faculty of Gandhi Medical College and Hospital opposing the allocation of land to the institute on their campus.

The CEO of NICE, M. Padmanabh Reddy, now has his fingers crossed, waiting for the storm to blow over. "There is a misunderstanding. Otherwise, there is no reason for anyone to object," he says.

The institute, Dr. Reddy says, will make Hyderabad the safest place for newborns. "Contrary to public notion, this is not a research centre. It is a public charitable trust hospital with 100 beds for affordable, free treatment to the poor," Dr. Reddy says.

Survival rate

"In Hyderabad, out of 1,000 babies born daily, 50 need intensive care. But instead of 750 beds at the rate of 15 days for each newborn, there are only 36 available with just two in Government Hospitals. Care provided here is also far below international standards. Against 98 per cent survival chances of an 800-gram baby in the U.S., it is only seven per cent here. We want to change that," says Dr. Reddy.

"Cost is another factor. Private institutions charge about Rs.15,000 per day. We will offer the same life support system at Rs.6,000 to those who can afford, and entirely free to the poor. Fifty per cent beds are in the non-paying category with various levels of concessions for the rest," he says.

A network with 68 maternity nursing homes, excluding government and charity organisations has been formed to cover the entire city. These will be provided with one state-of-art resuscitation unit each in their labour rooms. Personnel from these homes will be trained in neonatal care while mobile intensive care units will be provided to bring critically ill babies to the Institute, he informs.

Neonatal experts from the U.S. will be present throughout the year to train students and doctors apart from offering medical advice. The facility will be extended to other districts as well, says Dr. Reddy. That is, once the obstacles are cleared.

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