open-heart surgeries free of cost daily. By 2013, the number of outpatients per day increased to 10,000 to 12,000. The hospital contributes to the second largest number of deceased organ donations in Tamil Nadu. In March 2012, the hospital performed its 1,000th kidney transplant, the highest in any government hospital in the country, of which about 90 were cadaver transplants. As of 2013, the hospital has a 22 percent share in organ transplants, the highest among hospitals in the city. Canteen A corporation canteen is under construction on a 5,000 sq ft land and will be the biggest of its kind in the city. It can accommodate the 12,000 outpatients, 3,000 inpatients and thousands of staff and visitors at the hospital. The canteen is expected to open by mid-September 2013. The canteen will have ramps for differently-abled and possibly have separate counters for them. Incidents On 27 April 2022, a major fire broke out at the hospital at around 11 a.m. The Bradfield Surgical Block, one of the old buildings at the hospital premises, was affected in the fire. Future developments In March 2011, the state health department announced setting up of a genetic lab at the hospital to help in the early diagnosis of such diseases. In June 2012, the first skywalk in Chennai connecting Chennai Central Railway Station, Park Railway Station and the hospital was planned at a cost of 200 million. It will be 1 km long, linking the hospital with nine points, including Chennai Central Railway Station, Evening Bazaar, Government Medical College and Ripon Buildings on Poonamallee High Road. In April 2022, the government announced the construction of a new building at a cost of 650 million to replace the century-old Bradfield Surgical Block, which was destroyed by fire in the same month. See also Healthcare in Chennai Government multi-super speciality hospital Kilpauk Medical College Government Royapettah Hospital Stanley Medical College Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine Adyar Cancer Institute National Institute of Siddha References External links Homepage of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Chennai Madras Medical College Homepage 1664 establishments in British India Hospitals in Chennai Hospital buildings completed in 1842 Hospital buildings completed in 1938 British East India Company 20th-century architecture in India