Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology (JIC), the largest cardiac care centre set up by the Karnataka government plans to have separate clinics for diabetes, hypertension, prosthetic valve, cardiomiopathy, arrhythmia, rheumatic heart and congenital heart disease.

Set up at a total cost of Rs. 43 crore, Jayadeva Institute is among the top hospitals in the world and stands in the same league of cardiac care centres in Brazil, Sao Paulo and Shanghai.

Started as a 150-bed hospital, it has now 530 beds and the number of outpatients in the past was 25,000 but now it is 1.5 lakh per year. It also has the credit of being the first government hospital in the country to perform an open-heart surgery in 1985.

It was initially located on a premise next to the Victoria Hospital and the JIC was shifted early this year was relocated in a state of the art complex on the Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore. The building occupies 13-acre sprawling campus, which is 55,850 sq. metres of a built up area. With an estimated requirement of 7 lakh litres of water per day, the new complex has a sump with a capacity of 10 lakh litres It has two stand by generator sets of 750KVA each to provide backup in the case of power failure.

Dr. A N Prabhu Dev, director and heart surgeon, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology said that the future of JIC holds a lot of promise.

The diagnostic therapeutic equipment procured for the new complex at a cost of Rs. 30 crore is comparable to the best in the world. Most of the newly procured equipment are first of its kind in the country.

The Swing Lab is a unique concept, which increases the number of cases a lab can perform by 50 to 100 percent. The Swing Lab converts one lab into two by facilitating two operations simultaneously. The Hill Rom Century beds gain the first in the kind in the country provides the much needed flexibility and mobility to the patients without compromising on safety. They have nurse controls, head elevation gauge, internal break and other facilities. The Integris H 5000 C cardiovascular angiography system (imaging system) makes the job of a cardiologist easier by producing excellent digital pictures. Among a host of other equipment are ICU Ventilator, Cardiovascular ultra sound imaging, Jostra HL-20 Heart Lung Machine and duo focus operation theatre lights.

Equipment becomes obsolete in this rapidly progressing field of medicine. "We will be upgrading the equipment regularly, said Dr. Prabhu Dev.

A nuclear cardiology lab, which will determine the usefulness of a procedure even before it is done and an electrophysiology lab, which will rectify the abnormal heart beat will be added on very shortly, informed Dr. Prabhu Dev. "We are also trying to provide a dormitory to accommodate the attenders and guardians of the inpatients as most of them cannot afford to stay in lodges.

Dr. Prabhu Dev pointed out that the greatness of the institute was not in its state-of-the- art equipment but in providing healthcare to the poor at affordable costs, even free in several cases. "In the payment category, a heart surgery costs about Rs. 40,000 (inclusive of everything). At private hospitals it will be thrice the cost. We offer generous concessions for the low-income group and poor sections are given free treatment using the interest generated from the deposit of Rs. 20 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. In 2001, as many as 8,000 benefited from the scheme," he added.

The Karnataka government takes care of the salaries of the staff which amount to Rs. 3.5 crore annually. All other expenditure is met by the revenue, which is around Rs. 13 crore generated from the medical treatment. With a view to generating more revenue, the institute has introduced smart card facilities in which an individual can deposit Rs. 10,000 and avail of a free check up once a year for the rest of his life. There is also an executive card in which one can deposit Rs. 25,000 ad can avail of several facilities for life. The family card offers medical facilities for two for Rs. 50,000.