JOIN US The Delhi government on Thursday announced the addition of over 300 beds in an under construction hospital in Ambedkar Nagar promising to improve the efficiency system in the health department.
Following on the promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party in the party manifesto of increasing the existing 10,600 beds to 40,000, State Health Minister Satyendra Jain said the government is taking an “aggressive target” to fulfil these promises at the ground level.
“After reviewing the design of the hospital under construction, we found that more number of beds could be added. The cost of setting up each bed would also come down as the project would be scaled up,” said Jain.
According to the previous plan, the hospital was supposed to have 262 beds. After the review team visited it, the government is planning to add 338 beds in the existing project.
This will be achieved through optimum use of space in the hospital building. The review team found that the offices of the hospital employees were found to be “too big” and could be shrinked.
Bringing cost down
With the project being scaled up, it would be easier to bring down the cost of setting up each bed, said Jain.
While the production cost of each bed earlier was at Rs 45 lakh, the production cost for one bed will come down to Rs 13 lakh under the new plan. With all facilities under one roof, consultants would not have to refer patients to other centres either.
“This is a sample that we are putting forward on how to improve the efficiency system in the health department. The running cost will come down as the services would be shared. The services will be on par with the private sector,” said Jain.
Earlier, there were plans to set up another hospital in Ambedkar Nagar. However, with boosting the infrastructure in the current project, there would be no need to procure new land either, said Jain.
Meanwhile, the health department has reviewed two projects – Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Tahirpur in East Delhi and the Janakpuri Speciality Hospital – which have been lying non-functional for years now.
The hospitals which are currently offering skeletal services will start functioning full-fledged in six months, said the Health Minister.