Chandigarh, March 8 -- After nearly nine years of wait and multiple delays, the long-awaited Advanced Neuroscience Centre (ANC) at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is finally set to become operational from April 27, significantly strengthening neurological care at the institute. Union minister for health and family welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda is expected to inaugurate the 300-bed facility, built at a cost of Rs.490 crore, on the same day that the institute will also host its convocation ceremony. PGIMER director Dr Vivek Lal announced this during the 12th Annual Research Day celebrations on Saturday. The new centre will bring together neurology and neurosurgery services under one roof, including OPD, inpatient wards, operation theatres and emergency services, easing pressure on existing facilities at theinstitute. Modelled on PGIMER's other specialised centres such as the Advanced Cardiac Centre, Advanced Paediatric Centre and Advanced Eye Centre, the ANC is expected to help decongest patient load handled at Nehru Hospital, the New OPD block and the emergency wing. The six-storey building, spread across 47,619 square metres, includes three basements, two of them dedicated to parking with a capacity for 232 cars. The top floor will house 10 modular operation theatres and one minor OT to support complex procedures such as cerebrovascular surgery, skull base surgery, spinal surgery and functional neurosurgery. The project was first approved by the Union health ministry on August 18, 2017, in view of the rising patient load and increasing demand for specialised neurological services at PGIMER. After construction began in October 2019, the centre was expected to be completed within 39 months (January 2023). However, the project faced several delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, procedural approvals and procurement of advanced medical equipment. Hospital data reflects the growing demand for neurological care. In 2023-24, neurology and neurosurgery patients accounted for 11.8% of all admissions at PGIMER, with 19,111 patients admitted in these departments. The two departments together recorded 1,26,041 OPD visits during the same period. Initially, OPD services and wards with around 50 beds will begin functioning in the new centre. Emergency services will be shifted gradually once recruitment is completed and staff are fully oriented to the facility. A PGIMER faculty member said the institute was in the process of procuring an MRI machine, while approval for a CT scan machine had already been received and installation could take around six weeks....