Varanasi: Amidst chanting of Vedic mantras, rituals of bhumi pujan (groundbreaking) for the construction of a 500-bed super speciality hospital building were performed on SSPG divisional hospital premises here on Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid foundation of the project during his visit on Apr 28.After the rituals, former UP minister and City South MLA Neelkanth Tiwari informed the gathering that the initiative to convert the decades-old hospital into a modern super speciality hospital by equipping it with world-class medical facilities was aimed at ensuring best possible treatment for patients in Kashi.Established between 1870-75, the hospital has catered to patients from many districts of east UP, said Tiwari, adding that almost 3,000 patients get registered in the hospital’s outdoor patient department daily. The existing infrastructure of hospital and its deteriorated buildings were proving insufficient to meet the actual demand of patients from district adjoining areas.Now, after removing the old structure, a new 8-storey super speciality building is going to be constructed in its place at a cost of Rs 315.48 crore, he said, adding that the proposed complex will have two towers comprising modern medical technology, cutting-edge machinery and hi-tech treatment facilities. It will be equipped with modern facilities such as ICU, cancer, neuro and heart units and the hospital will become a major health centre for lakhs of patients in east UP. Treatment for serious ailments such as heart, brain and kidney diseases will be available here for payment of just one rupee, he added.Existing 300-bed hospital will be replaced by 500 beds facility while ICU and HDU will have 50 and 100 beds respectively. A modern dialysis centre, child unit with separate ICU,Central Sterilised Supply Department, OPD, IPD, private ward, prisoner ward, mortuary, isolation ward, palliative care ward, laundry, kitchen, cafeteria, pathology, microbiology, biochemistry, blood bank, skilled lab, burn ward with 14 beds, day care with 15 beds, dialysis with 20 beds, NRC (Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre) with 30 beds, four operation theatres and an emergency operation theatre will come up.In addition, he said, there will be wards for surgery, medicine, paediatrics and ortho, physiotherapy, family medicine, PAC, dental, Ayush, geriatric medicine, nutrition, NCD clinic, psychiatry and dermatology OPD. He said the super speciality hospital will offer facilities including cardiology, angioplasty, gastrology, urology, nephrology, plastic surgery, neuro surgery, neurology, arthrology and others.There will be parking facility for more than 600 vehicles and hospital administration officials will monitor the construction work as per standards.Chief medical officer and SSPG hospital chief medical superintendent, Jagdish Tripathi, besides Aatma Vishweshwar, Rachna Agarwal, Sadhana Vedanti and Alok Srivastava were present on the occasion.
