Jagran correspondent, South Delhi. The Delhi government has taken steps to expand the health infrastructure in the capital and rapidly complete long-pending projects. Under this, out of the 11 under-construction hospitals that are being planned to be run through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, work on seven had started only four years ago.
These hospitals, including Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and Geeta Colony, Shalimar Bagh, Sultanpuri, Sarita Vihar, Raghubir Nagar and Kirari, with a total of 6836 beds, are capable of providing relief to a large population. At some places the work got stuck and at some places the NOC could not be received on time.
The condition of Sarita Vihar is different. Here a huge hospital building with 336 beds will be ready in 2022 without parking facility. It is alleged that underground parking was mentioned in the map, but the contractor did not construct the parking. L Block Resident Welfare Association raised objection and also demonstrated regarding this, citing the problem of traffic jam in the colony.
When the government did not listen, we went to court, where we got a stay. At present the matter is pending in the High Court. Now, due to the new initiative of the government, the people of Sarita Vihar, Madanpur Khadar, Jasola and Shaheenbagh are once again hopeful of starting a hospital. According to Sarita Vihar RWA officials, there is no hospital in the surrounding area. In case of an accident or emergency, one has to go to Safdarganj or AIIMS, about nine kilometers away. OPD, Emergency, ICU facilities will be available in the hospital here, which is very important for the area. But before starting the hospital, the problem of parking will also have to be solved.
The road of about 400 meters from Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Mor to GD Goenka School remains jammed in the morning and evening. In case of opening of the hospital, the burden of vehicles of hospital staff, attendants etc. will also fall on this road. In the absence of parking arrangements, people will park their vehicles on the roadside. In such a situation, the problem of traffic jam will become acute. In such a situation, the government is requested to make proper arrangements for parking before starting the hospital.
Detailed feasibility study will be conducted
Along with these seven hospitals under construction, the Delhi government has planned to operate four new hospitals i.e. a total of 11 hospitals through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. It has been decided to conduct a detailed feasibility study to assess the financial, technical and operational arrangements of this proposal. For this, a tender has also been issued by the Health Services Directorate.
According to officials, the selected agencies will study other hospitals running on PPP model and will study at the global level and submit their report. The techno-commercial structure will be outlined along with advantages and disadvantages. Every hospital is different in terms of location, size, capacity and clinical services, hence separate reports for each project will be prepared and submitted to the government. The companies that get the work will also complete the remaining construction work.
Patient load and health service demand will also be assessed.
According to officials, the agreement will outline sharing of responsibilities, risks, revenue and patient load based on the results of feasibility studies to be conducted by different private agencies. This will also include the ratio of free and paid patients. Area and service assessment, which will assess population coverage, healthcare demand and patient profiles. This includes EWS, BPL, DGEHS beneficiaries and low and middle income groups.
More than 42 thousand medical staff will be needed
It is estimated that more than 42,000 medical staff will be needed to fully operate the facilities. It is estimated that approximately Rs 9,000 crore will be spent on this. Under the PPP model, private companies will be responsible for construction, equipment and operations, while the government will provide oversight to ensure public health objectives are met. Services will be available to both free and paying patients in these hospitals.