Mata Gujri Hospital opens new neonatal intensive care unit to serve west Delhi

Newborns in west Delhi requiring critical care will no longer have to be transferred to other facilities, following the opening of a new 13-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mata Gujri Hospital in Tilak Nagar.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which runs the hospital, has also introduced a range of modern diagnostic and surgical equipment alongside a dedicated ward for patients under the central government’s health insurance scheme.

Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi, who inaugurated the new facilities on Friday, said the upgrades address a long-standing demand from the local community. The hospital, which serves as a major public healthcare node in west Delhi, manages a heavy daily workload, with outpatient department footfall averaging around 1,600 patients every day.

On-site critical care for newborns

Until now, the hospital lacked the specialised infrastructure required to handle complex neonatal cases. With the new 13-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) now operational, doctors can treat and monitor critically ill newborns on-site.

Mayor Wahi said the availability of the unit means critically ill newborns will now be able to receive essential intensive care and monitoring within the hospital itself, rather than being referred elsewhere.

The upgrade is expected to relieve significant financial and emotional pressure on local families, who previously faced the risk of transferring vulnerable infants to larger state-run hospitals or private clinics when complications arose after birth.

Upgraded diagnostic and surgical tools

The expansion also brings a suite of advanced medical equipment to the Tilak Nagar facility, aimed at upgrading its diagnostic and surgical capabilities:

• Orthopaedic Surgery: A new C-Arm machine has been installed, allowing surgeons to capture real-time, high-resolution X-ray images during complex bone and joint operations.
• Ophthalmology: The eye department has received an optical coherence tomography scanner and a phacoemulsification machine, enabling advanced retinal diagnostics and modern, minimally invasive cataract surgeries.
• General Diagnostics: The hospital has acquired a colour Doppler ultrasound machine. Mayor Wahi also announced that the city administration plans to install a CT scan machine at the hospital in the near future.

Dedicated health insurance ward

Alongside the clinical upgrades, the hospital has opened a dedicated ward for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), the national public health insurance fund. The new ward is designed to streamline the admission, treatment, and discharge processes for patients eligible for subsidised or free care under the government scheme.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's investment at Mata Gujri Hospital is part of an ongoing effort to modernise secondary healthcare facilities across the capital, aimed at reducing the burden on overcrowded tertiary referral hospitals.