Bengal’s first private heritage super speciality hospital opens in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Charnock Hospital marked a historic milestone in Bengal’s healthcare landscape with the inauguration of Charnock Lohia Hospital, the first private heritage super speciality hospital in West Bengal, located in Central Kolkata. The newly launched 250-bed facility breathes new life into a nearly 200-year-old Grade I heritage building, formerly known as Lohia Matri Sewa Sadan.

Built at an investment of over Rs 250 crore, the hospital is expected to generate employment for nearly 1,000 people, thus contributing to the local economy. It will also extend all medical facilities to patients under the West Bengal government’s Swasthya Sathi scheme.

“Through Charnock Lohia Hospital, we have demonstrated that heritage conservation and modern healthcare can coexist seamlessly,” said Prashant Sharma, MD, Charnock Hospital.

Located near Girish Park Metro Station, the hospital houses 250 beds, including over 90 ward beds and 20 private cabins, supported by 70 ICU beds across multiple critical care specialties. It features 4–6 state-of-the-art modular operation theatres, dedicated Cath Lab, CTVS and Neuro operation theatres, a 10-bed emergency department and a 10-bed dialysis unit. Promising affordable healthcare for all, Sharma said that the hospital aims to treat 10,000 people annually. Praising the state government under the leadership of CM Mamata Banerjee, especially for its initiatives in the healthcare sector, he said that the entire project was completed in a record 15 months due to the government’s support. “There has been no untoward incidents and no demands from the state government apart from that they wanted the hospital to facilitate Swasthya Sathi card holders, which we readily agreed,” said Sharma.

The Charnock Lohia Hospital was inaugurated by Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim in the presence of ministers Dr Shashi Panja and Chandrima Bhattacharya, TMC MP Dola Sen and MLAs Vivek Gupta and Swapan Debnath, among others. “When Prashant Sharma and his team came to us with the proposal, our only concern was that this is a Grade 1 heritage building and nothing can be changed structurally. Also, I wanted written assurance that Swasthya Sathi will be allowed,” said Kolkata Mayor.

For Bhattacharya, the Charnock Lohia Hospital represents an exemplary model of private and public sector collaboration. Dr Panja expressed satisfaction that the Charnock Hospital group retained the name ‘Lohia’, preserving the heritage identity of the institution. Susil Kumar Misra, Chairman of Charnock Hospital, said the hospital is tentatively scheduled to open to the public from March 10.