The Prime Minister began his tour of the hospital with a visit to the cardiology and neurosurgery operating theatres, where hospital officials demonstrated the use of the facilities' communications equipment, which allow surgeons to consult with colleagues in other units and demonstrate practical skills for students in lecture halls during surgery.
The doctors present said that the surgical unit is furnished with all the necessary equipment for what is called telemedicine, where all the details of surgery and a patient's condition can be broadcast to doctors in other rooms or even other hospitals located in different regions. Astrakhan Region Governor Alexander Zhilkin reported that the new surgical unit would host its first surgeries as early as June.
The Prime Minister also inspected the new building's intensive care unit (ICU). He was shown the intensive care room with ten beds and separate rooms for patients in grave condition. ICU head Irakly Kitiashvili said that "the unit was equipped with the newest generation apparatuses for artificial pulmonary ventilation," which allow the patient to adjust the ventilator rhythm. "The equipment was purchased with federal funds," the head of the ICU added.
In addition, the Prime Minister was shown a state-of-the-art angiograph. Hospital administrator Nikolai Kabachek reported that "the device helped substantially reduce the time patients spent in hospital."
"Where are the specialists trained to use it?" Vladimir Putin asked. "Mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg," the administrator replied.
The Prime Minister also visited one of the rooms for regular patients, which was furnished with a VoIP phone, a TV set, a radio, an alarm system and the necessary medical equipment.