NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday inaugurated the facility for performing open-heart surgeries at the Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital in east Delhi. The government hospital thus became only a healthcare facility of its kind to offer this complicated life-saving medical procedure.

Arvind Kejriwal also surveyed several other new facilities at the hospital. GB Pant Hospital is the only other medical facility in the national capital to be equipped for open-heart surgeries. “This is a state-of-the-art hospital at par with private hospitals,” Kejriwal said.

“Five years ago, there were 3 crores OPDs at all the government hospitals combined. However, they have now gone up to 6 crores. With enhanced facilities and services, the inflow of patients at government hospitals would rise even further and it would a challenge for us to deal with it. We are ready for it,” the Kejriwal said.

The hospital has made several other services open to the public. These include a 16-bed state-of-the-art ICU, cardiothoracic vascular surgery unit, OT complex, Hepatobiliary, Bariatric, and Metabolic surgery center and ERCP technology under Gastroenterology department.