Gaya: Aimed at reducing referrals, the health department is expanding surgical facilities at district and sub-divisional govt hospitals in Gaya, making 36 to 70 categories of essential surgeries available.Civil surgeon Dr Rajaram Prasad said the initiative was aimed at ensuring patients did not have to travel to bigger cities for surgeries that could be performed at govt facilities. “On Sept 1, the department performed 13 surgeries at various government hospitals in the district,” he said.At Jai Prakash Narayan Sadar Hospital in Gaya, facilities include surgeries for hydrocele, hernia, appendicitis, piles, fistula, breast lumps and gallbladder-related ailments. The gynaecology and obstetrics department will provide Caesarean sections, hysterectomy, surgery for ectopic pregnancy and family-planning procedures.District programme manager (health) Nilesh Kumar said surgical services had also been strengthened at sub-divisional hospitals in Sherghati and Tekari, besides Khizarsarai. Orthopaedic surgical services are also being expanded with additional equipment.“The expansion will particularly benefit poor and lower-income families who often find surgery at private hospitals difficult to afford. It will also reduce unnecessary referrals and provide specialised treatment closer to patients’ homes,” Nilesh said.
