NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has planned to add more than 13 thousand beds in its government hospitals since coming to power, said a report by the health ministry. The report was submitted by Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday on the status of Delhi government’s programme for expansion of public health infrastructure.
“In addition to the existing capacity of 11,353 beds in 38 Delhi government hospitals, a total capacity of 13,899 beds is being added. Three hospitals, with a capacity of approximately 2,800 beds are set to open in the next six months,” said an official statement.
While the hospital in Burari is expected to be functional by November this year, Indira Gandhi hospital in Dwarka is likely to become operational from March 2020.
As per the report, a major chunk on the addition of beds is part of expansion project to construct new blocks for existing hospitals. For the proposal, a capacity of 5,739 beds is being added in 15 existing hospitals, with simultaneous remodelling in the hospitals.
“The total increase in capacity that is currently underway in terms of beds is more than 122 per cent. But this is not just about the number of beds, but also about the quality of facilities provided,” said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The report also stated that following the Chief Minister’s direction to ensure that all government hospitals must be centrally air-conditioned, all new ones hospitals are being built fully AC and existing hospitals are being remodelled with ACs. The Delhi government has set a target of completing all the undergoing hospital projects by 2023.
The report also added that 200 Mohalla Clinics are ready for launch in October this year, and additionally 200 more will be ready by December. Over 1.6 crore OPD visits and 15.3 lakh tests have been conducted in these clinics free of cost since July 2015.
