Pune: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar inaugurated the revamped and expanded multi-specialty hospital of Welfare Medical Foundation Trust here, an official said.

The existing medicare centre run by the WMF Trust has been converted into a 60-bed specialty hospital and renamed "Villoo Poonawalla Memorial Hospital" with funding and equipment from the Serum Institute of India through its Villoo Poonawalla Foundation (VPF).

The hospital has been constructed, equipped and commissioned by Welfare Medical Foundation with complete financial and logistical assistance from Serum Institute of India. Present on the occasion were Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Mr Adar Poonawalla, Mrs Natasha Poonawalla, and Mr Sachin Tendulkar along with the trustees of Welfare Medical Foundation.

Funded under the Villoo Poonawalla Foundation of Serum Institute, the hospital has 60-beds capacity and will soon be expanded to serve more than hundred beds. This multi-speciality hospital will offer comprehensive healthcare program including general medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, ophthalmology, urology, neurology, ENT, skin, pediatrics, and gynecology & obstetrics.

Spread across 3800 sqm and nine floors, the hospital aims to provide services for basic health needs such as 24 x 7 emergency / casualty department and pharmacy, 10 bedded intensive care unit, 5 operation theatres, 3 bedded neonatal intensive care unit, a dialysis centre and complete diagnostic laboratory.

Speaking about the hospital, Mrs Natasha Poonawalla, Chairperson-Villoo Poonawalla Foundation, said, "Villoo Poonwalla Foundation was established with an earnest desire to strive towards enhancing the lives of communities around us. With primary focus on critical issues such as health, sanitation and education, we hope to positively reach out to the underprivileged sections of our society. Our commitment has remained unwavering and consistent throughout the years and Villoo Poonawalla hospital is another small step towards taking our communities to a healthier future."