National Neurosciences Centre

While there are already centers of excellence in India which have advanced facilities for Neurosurgery and Neuroscience, the eastern part of India with more than 300 million people, is very poorly provided for. Patients with neurological illness travel long distances to reach these advanced centers and obtain the treatment that they need.

Many patients are however either unable to afford the costs of the journey across the country, or are suffering from such conditions , that make transfer impossible. Consequently thousands of patients, many of them young, are dying or becoming permanently disabled as a result of neurological diseases, which in other circumstances would be curable.

Dr R P Sengupta, a neurosurgeon with roots in Calcutta, but who has worked and lived in the UK since 1961, was moved by this distressing situation. In 1982 conceived the idea of developing a centre of excellence in neuroscience in Calcutta. Unfortunately ni progress was made with this idea until April 1994, when attending a conference in San Diego, California, USA, he met two outstanding and world renowned neurosurgeons from Bengal, Prof Chandranath Sen (working oin USA) and Prof Abhijit Guha (based in Canada). Together they decided to devote their time, energies, knowledge, influence and resources to the goal of establishing a high grade neurological facility in Calcutta.

After visiting the newly built Peerless Hospital in Calcutta, they realized that through association with this modern hospital, they could fulfill their dream. Accordingly on October 7th 1997, Dr RP Sengupta signed an agreement with Peerless Hospital to establish the National Neuroscience Centre, Calcutta. The essence of the agreement was that resources would be provided from abroad while the management of the Centre would be with the hospital authorities. Charitable foundations were set up in the UK under the joint patronage of the Duchess of Northumberland and Swami Lokeswarananda, for this purpose. The NNC was formally inaugurated by the Governor of West Bengal on 15th December 1997. In a further development, in December 2000, the NNC was transformed into a registered non-profit making autonomous institution.

Highlights

The Objectives of the NNC on inception were:

• To deliver safe and up to date neurological care for the people of eastern India
  
• To deliver excellent care at affordable process in a non-profit making environment
  
• To increase and improve the expertise of doctors, nursing staff , technicians and other health care workers at NNC through training, good management and (where appropriate) via overseas secondment
  
• To raise the knowledge regarding neurology and neurosurgery amongst the health practitioners and public at large in eastern India
  
• To promote and develop clinical research activities in the field of neuroscience
  
• To introduce exacting standards of evaluation and quality control to ensure optimal health care at NNC
  
• By following ethical guidelines drawn up by the World Federation of Neurological Societies, to become a beacon of excellence and trust for neurological patients and their families in Eastern India.

The NNC was unique in many ways and aimed at developing high quality teams which are essential for delivering excellent neurological care. A dedicated and expert team effort is essential for good results in complex and challenging neurosurgical operations.

The special quality and high ambitions and ideals of the NNC has been recognized by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurosurgeons, which have adopted NNC as one of their overseas projects, qualifying as a recipient for resources, volunteers and experts.

NNC is located on the 2nd floor of the Peerless Hospital. The last is a multispeciality modern hospital with a unique French style architecture. It is located on the outskirts of Kolkata (Calcutta) on the EM Bypass.