Four new outpatient departments (OPDs) opened at the upcoming super-specialty block of the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) here on Friday, on the occasion of the 55th foundation day of the region’s largest state-run referral hospital.

Also, a hybrid critical care unit (CCU) was opened at the medical college.

Chandrima Bhattacharya, the state health minister, inaugurated the facilities in virtual mode from Calcutta. In the NBMCH, Sushanta Roy, the officer on special duty of the state health department in north Bengal, was present with officials, faculty members and students.

Roy told newspersons that the work of the super-specialty block would end soon.

“Four OPDs — neurology, nephrology, cardiology and paediatrics — will start operating in this block. In due course, a range of other medical facilities will be opened at the block,” he said.

Apart from the super-specialty block, a 24-bed hybrid CCU was also opened at the medical college. “So far, there was a 10-bed CCU at the hospital. This new unit will benefit more patients,” said Roy.

Sources in the NBMCH said that the work of the super-specialty block, which started in 2015, and was supposed to finish in 2019, got delayed because of a number of reasons.

“The work is still on and it will take some more months,” said a source.

In the four-storey building, services like CT scan, MRI and X-ray will be set up on the ground floor, along with a minor operation theatre.

“On the first floor, there will be 21 OPDs and a 10-bed ICCU. On the second floor, there will be wards for neurology, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, and a treatment room for cardiothoracic vascular surgery (CTVS),” said a source. “The third floor will have units for paediatric surgery, nephrology, cardiology and a 15- bed dialysis unit. There will be doctors’ rooms and more ICCU beds on the fourth floor.”

Outside the building, some allied infrastructure would be set up, such as a water treatment tank, a bio-medical waste area and a parking area.

“The total project cost is around Rs 157 crore of which Rs 54 crore is for civil work while the rest is for medical equipment,” said a source.