About Us

Click here for the Departmental Brochure

Click here for the NCRC Brochure

Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research, IPGMER cordially invites you to the NEWBORN CARE RESOURCE CENTRE, the first of its kind in the country, established with the support of Norway India partnership Initiative through United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) at the Department of Neonatology, I.P.G.M.E.R.

NCRC is an initiative to provide a state of the art knowledge hub dedicated to the care of the newborn. NCRC wishes to be a bridge between the eminent neonatologists worldwide and those caring for newborn at the remotest corner of our country, so that the stream of knowledge can flow seamlessly transcending boundaries, overcoming obstacles, reaching the neediest of the newborns.

The journey started many years ago. The philosophy was to remove poverty of knowledge in spite of being in the midst of poverty of money Provide modern facilities newborn care even to the remotest districts of our country by modifying the existing facilities. This led to the formation of the first Sick New Born Care Unit (SNCU) in Purulia, West Bengal. Globally 4 million newborn babies die every year. One million of them belong to India. [MDG-4] goal to reduce child mortality can only be met if neonatal mortality is drastically reduced. Existing facilities for newborn care can only be strengthened if a RESOURCE CENTRE is there to co-ordinate, guide, steer the existing newborn units through the many challenges they face medical, technical, organisational, engineering, training and management issues. The NCRC at IPGMER is a step towards realisation of this vision.

Department of neonatology, IPGMER has the distinction of having the longest experience in this country of establishing, supporting and mentoring the sick newborn care units throughout the country and is acclaimed worldwide as a pioneer of PURULIA MODEL.

Activities:

To provide continued support to operational SNCUs; not just in the initial stage of establishment.

Hands-On Training both at identified centres as well as online on newborn care.

Training of nurses and support staff.

Acts as on line knowledge hub for newborn care; eminent neonatologists would respond to online queries from across the country.

Establishing a system of reporting and data analysis.

Establishing a system for quality assurance for SNCUs.

Collaborating with the State SNCU Cell to provide support and guidance for qualitative implementation and scaling up of the facility based neonatal care.

developing protocols for patient management and equipment maintenance

Customized designing of units.

NCRC: VISION STATEMENT

Explore the Unknown

Question the practices

Discover the science

Understand the needs

Teach to care

Spread the knowledge

Reach the unreached

All with honesty, integrity and trust of the people

SNCU

According to global reviews, roughly 15% of newborns requires facility based care. Sick Newborn Care Units are facilities built in order to provide level II care to these babies, capable of taking care of most of the neonatal problems, except those that would require ventilator support. SNCU facilities provide controlled environment, individual warming and close monitoring devices, intravenous fluid and medications, centralised oxygen supply, various bedside therapeutic procedures, portable x-ray, and in-house side laboratory services. Thus, SICK NEWBORN CARE UNITS form a major cog of the comprehensive package of evidence based practises and interventions encompassing the perinatal period that is essential to achieve reduction in neonatal mortality rate. Typically this SNCU complex is 25 bedded, and addresses the needs of an average size district.

NIPI

The Norway- India Partnership Initiative is an outcome of commitment by the governments of both Norway and India, focusing on the issue of reducing child mortality and improving child health to attain the Millennium Development Goal 4 by the year 2015. The NIPI activities are for five years (2007-2012) corresponding the duration of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). NIPI is neither a project nor a program but an initiative. NIPI supports the NRHMs child health initiatives placed as part of State and district plans, developed with full participation of the State health system through work within the existing institutional mechanism at the state level. One of the NIPI endeavours to reduce NMR is by development of SNCU in 4 low performing states- Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

IPGME&R and SSKM Hospital

Department of Neonatology, IPGMER & SSKM Hospital, Kolkata has the longest experience of establishing, supporting and mentoring SNCU in the country; the innovative work done by the institute while establishing SNCU reflects their understanding of the field situation. IPGMER pioneered the first level 2 SNCU in the country also popularly known as the PURULIA MODEL; a model so successful that it has been replicated and scaled up through out the country. This work was published in various journals including Lancet and has been acknowledged very recently in Assisted Ventilation of the Neonate: Goldsmith (5th Edition), Elsevier. This Purulia model has also been included as a model for social sector service delivery, by the Planning Commission of India , in their Good Practices Resource Book(2009). Among other innovations, IPGMER has also masterminded the introduction of neonatal aides and neonatal ward in the SNCU.

Newborn Care Resource Centre