The new cath lab-cardiology department at PDU Civil Hospital in Rajkot, Gujarat, India, has been inaugurated.

Constructed at a cost of Rs100m ($1.2m), the facility is intended to provide accurate diagnosis and treatment for heart-related diseases.

The cath lab’s services include angiography, angioplasty, and pacemaker implantation, all covered under the Ayushman Card.

According to the press statement, the department is equipped with the latest technology and staffed by a team of medical experts.

The opening of this department is expected to save people from Saurashtra and Kutch from travelling to Ahmedabad for heart treatment.

Being part of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana healthcare scheme that will address regional healthcare disparities, the initiative is expected to be expanded to Surat and Bhavnagar in the future.

Several dignitaries, including Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel, Cabinet Minister Bhanu Babariya and Mayor Dr Pradip Dav, were present at the inauguration.

The hospital complex in Rajkot comprises several hospitals with a total of 750 inpatient beds.

In October 2022, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for healthcare facilities worth Rs12.75bn ($153.59m) in Ahmedabad's Civil Medicity in Gujarat.

This included the nation's largest kidney hospital with 850 beds, a cancer and research institute block, a cardiology institute building, a new super speciality hospital, and more.