Sishubhawan Cuttack to Double Critical Care Capacity: 128 Beds and 500+ New Staff Posts Sanctioned

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The government recently launched a major plan to boost critical care at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (Sishubhawan) in Cuttack. In about a year, they want to take the number of critical care beds from 50 to around 128. This jump is supposed to help with the heavy demand at Odisha’s top pediatric hospital. Right now, the place runs 12 pediatric ICUs, 12 neonatal ICUs, and 26 high dependency units. Minister Mukesh Mahaling says this is the institute’s biggest expansion since it opened back in 1960.

This push for more beds follows some upgrades to the hospital’s infrastructure. About a year ago, on April 11, Union health minister J P Nadda opened a new, centrally air-conditioned, seven-story building at the institute. The new building helped double their total beds—from 422 to 846. Dr. Pravakar Mishra, who leads the hospital, says these changes matter because more and more kids come here from all over Odisha and even other states.

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Of course, new beds mean new recruitings for medical professionals. The government’s backing a recruitment drive across medical departments:
– For faculty and doctors, they approved 59 new positions: 5 professors, 10 associate professors, 18 assistant professors, 24 senior residents, and 2 medical officers.
– On top of that, last December 8, they sanctioned 556 more nursing officers, 7 lab technician jobs, and a radiographer post.
– There’s also a green light for 25 paramedics, 114 admin staff, and one new post each for the drug store and blood bank.

The expansion comes as a relief to families who have struggled with the facility’s current limitations.

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