‘Construction of multi-specialty hospitals will be completed by Sept’

The state health department has been working on a war footing to complete the construction of 37 multi-specialty hospitals at various districts. 

In order to provide better health service facilities especially in the remote areas of the districts, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced 41 multi-speciality hospitals across the state, of which four hospitals have already been set up. 

These four hospitals which have come up at Nayagram (West Midnapore), Bajora (Bankura), Jangipur and Sagardighi (Murshidabad)were constructed within a time span of one-and-half year. The Chief Minister had already inaugurated the four hospitals. 

The West Bengal Medical Services Corporation Limited (WBMSCL) is supervising the construction of all the multi-super specialty hospitals.  WBMSCL, which works under the state health department, has been entrusted with the creation of new health infrastructure and maintaining the existing health facilities in association with public works department. This government owned body purchase, install and maintain high end medical equipments. 

WBMSCL has engaged private companies like L&T and Shapoorji Pallonji for the construction of some of these hospitals. Works are being done in three phases. In phase – I, 13 hospitals are coming up, while in phase –II, 21 hospitals and in phase- III, 7 hospitals will come up. Health department officials, who have been supervising the project, said they expect that the remaining works of constructing the rest will be completed by the end of September 2016. A senior official of the health department said that if everything goes as per plan, the construction works of the remaining 37 super specialty hospitals will be completed by the end of 2016. Among them, around 16 hospitals are on the verge of completion and expected to start functioning by the end of January 2016, while the 14 others will likely to come within June 2016. 

These hospitals will have 500 and 300 beds with all modern facilities of Broad Specialty and also a super specialty either of any of these spheres of trauma care or burn unit or orthopedic and others. An official in the health department said that the government spent around Rs 55 crore each for setting up of 300-bedded hospitals and Rs 100 crore each for 500 bedded hospitals respectively.